


And If I'm Wrong?~

by MA_XT



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Arson, Drug Dealing, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gun Violence, Happy Ending, Robbery, Strangers to Lovers, Theft, please comment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 31,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29044749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MA_XT/pseuds/MA_XT
Summary: Yangyang's been known to have this need to always be right even when he didn't have to be; there was this undeniable urge that told him to seek out the truth, to prove he knew it all: call it an addiction, if you will. Though, maybe he'll finally have his fill with this criminal around
Relationships: Liu Yang Yang/Reader
Kudos: 5





	And If I'm Wrong?~

The cursor on the screen blinked; once, twice and a third time before he sighed - the sound filled with an all too familiar frustration. The last thing he wanted to be doing was creating a quiz about the types of noodle dishes people were, but, of course, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

Yangyang drummed his fingers against the desk, switching tabs to his empty inbox as he refreshed the page for the umpteenth time that hour ( the white background of which he swore would sear itself into his eyeballs). The laptop hummed, fans beginning to whir from the 4th consecutive hour of being used when he refreshed again for the umpeenth and one time. 

This time he tutted at the sight. Why did his damn editor have to take so long to respond?

Brown hues flickered to the TV, the screen playing a random advert that he was barely paying attention to; he only really used it as background noise while he ‘worked’. He almost had to scoff at the thought, some work he was doing: sitting around and writing things that would have had his mother give him a pointed look. Not a look of annoyance mind you, more so a look that questioned him on why he had chosen to pursue this line of work instead of something more reputable like becoming a heart surgeon.

‘If he doesn’t fucking reply in like, two seconds, I’m going to scream,’ he thought half seriously, curser hovering over the refresh button as he pressed refresh for the umpeenth and second time. 

His mouth opened, ready to let out a shriek as the page took a second longer than usual to load, when he noticed something there which hadn’t been present a second ago; a devil given email from the person he’d been waiting on!

The mouse almost lagged with the speed he used, practically flying to open it up. Maybe this was the big story he was waiting for, or perhaps even his editor telling him that he was being given a promotion for his phenomenal journalism. 

But, like everything else the man sent, it was disappointing. ‘This test is garbage.’ read the first sentence, the hope dashed from his daydreams almost as quickly as they had been manifested, ‘who on god’s green earth would eat noodles that have peanut butter in it first of all, and two; I am NOT fettuccine alfredo. That’s not even a noodle dish, let alone me being one that’s so boring’. He couldn’t help but snort a little at this, knowing he had written that as an option for the most mundane of people who took the quiz. Yangyang was simply the messiah dishing out knowledge to the less fortunate, and if his editor just so happened to be designated as a simple cream dish, then that was his role to play in life. You couldn’t change procephies. ‘Scrap this and do it over. Try harder.’

“Fuck off,” he grumbled while slamming his laptop closed, the device producing a cringe worthy screech as he shoved it away. 

Instead, he looked towards the base of the sofa, spotting his cat lounging at the foot of it - more resembling a furry loaf than a feline. “Yo, Louis,” he cooed, reaching down to try and coerce the cat to come to him, “hey, Louis, come here.”

Louis blinked, eyes blank as he licked his paw, ears twitching ever so slightly but otherwise giving no indication that he was going to move at all. 

Scooping him up, Yangyang placed him onto his lap and began to stroke his ears, the cat continuing to ignore him. “You’re so annoying, why don’t you love me back?” And, like always, there was no reply; not even a measly meow. “Fine, whatever, be like that.”

The TV’s sound caught his attention again and he looked around, trying to find the remote before finding it wedged halfway between the crack of the sofa cushions. The channel switched, changing into a news channel instead of the cartoons he was going for, having accidentally hit a different number than intended. Yangyang groaned, steadily getting more annoyed with each little thing, using one hand to try and reenter the correct numbers.

“-has hit another jewellery store. This makes this the fourth consecutive hit within 3 months and jewellers are demanding answers from the police.”

Near enough instantly, the thought of cartoons disappeared and he was listening intently to the news reporter. They stood at the scene, microphone in hand with police cars flashing behind them, the lights reflecting off of the nearby windows. 

“Approximately 6 billion won’s worth of gold and precious gems has been stolen. Police are still looking into the crime scene to see if there has been any signs of forced entry by the perpetrator,” they spoke before turning towards the front of the jewellery store.

There seemed to be nothing amiss, the store as pristine as one would expect; there was barely even a crack in the vast windows that showed the interior of empty shelves and glass showcases. It had been stripped to its bare essentials and Yangyang found it strangely eerie to look at. However, the one thing that was incredibly telling about a break in was, in fact, the giant spray painted smiley that covered the door. It was the same tell that had popped up at every other break in mentioned, and there only seemed to be one person doing all of this; The Smiler.

Reaching for his phone, he snapped a quick picture of the door and uploaded it right to his instagram story, a hearty caption of ‘damnnn 😱😱😱 this criminal doesn’t chill fr😂😂’ illustrating his very eloquent thoughts on the subject matter. He didn’t bother to wait to wait for people’s responses, instead continuing to watch the news.

“The Smiler has yet to be identified, but each robbery has been attributed to them due to their unmistakable signature,” the reporter continued and he couldn’t argue with that. The smiley, consisting of two x’s for eyes and a wide curve for the smile, was hard to miss. Every report and article he had seen on them said the same thing: that they entered without a trace and left just as easily as they had come in. Some hailed them as a master escapist, and others simply chalked their feats down to police incompetence. If you asked him, he thought it was a mixture of both. 

The camera panned over the scene and towards the crowd that had formed, curious pedestrians looking over the tape and taking pictures, many gesturing to the door with the same wide eyed look at him.

“How don’t they know who it is yet?” he asked no one in particular, Louis having closed his eyes a few minutes ago - seemingly asleep. He leant back into the sofa, surrounded by the cushions and becoming one with them just as his phone buzzed, a notification on the screen from Instagram.

‘Ten replied to your story.’

Opening it up, he wished almost instantly that he hadn't. 

Ten: Aren’t you a reporter?

Ten: Go find out who it is

Yangyang: 😒😒 I wish

Yangyang: I’m fucking stuck writing about noodles

He watched Ten type for a few seconds before the older man erased his entire message and sent a short voice note instead.

And just like that, he was hearing the mocking voice of his gege, the annoyance on Yangyang’s visage not at all hidden. “Haha,” Ten said, smugness alarmingly apparent in his tone, “you’re such a loser, baby.”

Yangyang: ur so funny 🙄🙄🙄

Yangyang: bye now

Not bothering himself with anymore of Ten’s taunting, he realised that they were showing an old CCTV clip of the supposed Smiler, the footage grainy and practically crackling as it played on screen. It was of a very blurry figure dressed in all black, none of their features even slightly visible. They seemed to be facing forward, looking over the jewellery before turning towards the security camera. It was hard to tell what they were doing, the feed glitching multiple times as they walked closer before going completely black and cutting back to the news reporter.

He chewed on his cheek, feeling Louis purr under his fingertips. “Do you think it’s worth going over there? You know, just to like, look at it? This one is the closest jewellery shop to us that they’ve hit.”

Louis stretched, making himself comfortable on his owner’s lap and kneading the clothing. Clearly Louis was gearing up to give an answer and he would eagerly receive his cat’s insight. Nonetheless, the knowledge was something Yangyang was too unprepared to receive, the pungent aroma of the feline’s words of wisdom hitting him full force. “Oh my god,” he groaned, holding a hand over his nose as he pushed Louis away, “what the fuck did you eat?”

His phone buzzed once more, another message from Ten.

Ten: Show me Louis

Ten: Also u wanna see my lunch?

Ten: 

Yangyang: Louis hates you and so do I.

* * *

The day was cool, not too warm and not too cold either - the type of weather that you could wear a jacket in and not need anything extra. A slight breeze ruffled the tops of the trees, with wind whistling ever so slightly as they passed through branches and open windows. 

Yangyang pulled his coat closer to his body, shivering slightly. In his pocket was a notebook and pen as well as his phone. He supposed he didn’t really need much more, especially when the crime scene was now over two weeks old. 

The place was deserted, an even more pitiful sight now without the pizzazz of the police presence and awe stricken onlookers. Now, there was no tape, no people, no nothing. Lights were off inside, darkness shrouding the store that once would have been glimmering with jewellery. 

Walking closer to the large window, he looked in. Quite honestly, there was nothing of interest within it, the hype coming more from the knowledge of what had happened rather than the actual place. He puffed out his cheeks, not wanting to admit to himself that he was probably wasting his time by coming here. If the police couldn’t find anything, what hope did he have?

He paced back and forth in front of the storefront, looking around the outside to try and see if there was anything. The Smiler was confirmed to have not gotten in through the front, but there was no other way they could have gotten in. The rear was protected by a heavy metal door, one that required a fingerprint to open up. It hadn’t been opened at all.

“This is so weird,” he muttered, about to walk away when he heard a voice right next to his ear, his hackles rising immediately as he jumped. 

“You a reporter or a curious person?” Looking to his right, a man (likely in his late 30’s) was standing there. He wore a more sensible looking coat, a plaid cap on his head as he looked at Yangyang through a window. “If you’re a reporter, you’re a little late, Kiddo.”

“Shit, sorry.” He moved away a little, feeling heat start to rise up to his cheeks from embarrassment. “Are you the owner?”

“No, just the neighbour. There’s been a lot of media attention and nosy citizens, not that I blame them, I’m nosy too.” The man smiled good naturedly, shoving his hands into his pockets as he made eye contact with Yangyang. “Thought I’d help the owner out and answer any questions, the poor man’s overwhelmed.”

Well, Yangyang mused, being robbed blind wasn’t exactly an enjoyable experience.

“So you’re a curious passerby?”

“Ah.” He sucked in air through his teeth, his sentence a little bitter despite himself, “not quite. I’m a reporter.”

Thankfully, the neighbour only nodded, not making any comment about how late he was. "You have any questions? I can probably answer most of them."

Figuring that he wouldn't get another opportunity, he decided to take it - even if only to satiate his need to know everything. "Was anything caught on the CCTV?"

"No. It was cut for 30 minutes before turning on with the entire place cleared out. Hell, I don't think there was even a dust bunny left after."

Yangyang nodded slowly, looking once more at the shop. "Do you know where the owner is now?"

"Not seen him for a while actually. Probably still in shock."

"The Smiler's really slippery," he commented, the faint yellow of the spray painted smile still there despite being pressure washed. "They've gotten so many other places."

"Police are just incompetent if you ask me." Came the neighbour's tut, clearly sharing the same sentiment as many others. "How'd you rob four other places without getting caught once? Probably an inside job, but that's not here or there."

Taking a step back, Yangyang looked at the building as a whole. "That would explain some of it, but, do you know if the owner lives there?"

He pointed to the top half of the building that looked empty, though large enough for a decent sized flat. 

Following the younger's steps, he looked up too and shook his head. "Owner lives three streets away. That place is just empty, police looked over it and found nothing. Place's boarded up anyway, you can't get in or out."

"Huh, okay. Thank you. That's all I really needed to know."

Adjusting his cap, the man pat his shoulder, encouragingly. "Good luck with your article, son. If you get a good one down, make sure to credit me, eh?"

Yangyang didn't have the heart to tell him he wouldn't be writing a thing. Not with the measly amount of information he had. So, as a compromise, he nodded with a slightly tight lipped smile, the glimmer not reaching his eyes. 

The man took his leave, turning back around and walking in the opposite direction towards the shops and the high street - more than likely, he’d seen Yangyang while heading out and decided to talk to him. 

A couple of moments passed where all he did was look up at the building, eyes grazing over the little nuances of the brick and mortar. There were cracks in the bricks, though nothing that would have damaged the integrity of the structure and, no matter how hard he looked, he could not find anything interesting about the front. Though, the same feelings couldn’t be applied to the top of the store.

Walking backwards, he kept his eyes centered on the board in an attempt to get the full picture, maybe by some grace of god, he would have an epiphany of some so-

“Whoa- oh shit!” Nearly tipping over, he only just managed to steady himself with only a little stumbling. However, the same could not be said for the person he had crashed into, groceries spilling from a bag and a woman on the floor. “Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She waved his words away, brushing off her coat and grabbing the handles of the fallen bag. “Don’t worry about it.”

Yangyang got to work quickly, trying to gather the spilled items and placing them back in the bag before standing up straight, feeling the flames of hell lick at his twisting insides before they manifested physically as a rose coloured flush. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, no harm done.” He noticed that her coat hood was pulled up, casting a shadow over her features and obscuring them from his view. “Were you looking at the jewellery shop?”

He nodded slowly, not expecting her question. “Yeah.”

“Guess you’re interested in the burglary too, huh?” The bag was moved from her right hand to her left, leaving her free to gesture to the boards at the top - the same ones that had distracted him. “There’s been a lot of people interested by them recently, probably because of the Smiler.

He barely had the chance to reply before she stepped forward, the faint scent of her perfume reaching him (he wasn’t quite sure what he likened it to, though it made him feel oddly nostalgic). “I have a theory about how they broke in. Would you like to hear it?”

Yangyang shrugged; he had nothing to lose by humouring her. “Sure, what is it?”

“You see that board?” He nodded. “You know how there was no sign of a break in? I’m pretty sure they hid in there.”

“I thought that too, but the police checked and found nothing.”

“Did they? Well, the police aren’t always thorough, it doesn’t hurt to question them. You should question them, actually.” Her free hand was shoved back into her coat pocket, though she still looked forward. “The boards might look secure, but that corner there is damaged. Who’s to say they didn’t put them back afterwards?” 

“Oh…” Mulling over his own thoughts, he barely realised that she had begun to walk away, already a couple of meters from him when he noticed. However, even when he spoke up again, saying a loud ‘bye’, she barely looked back.

But, now that she had said that, he could see what she’d meant - the corner of the board was damaged and seemed to be lifting up from the rusted nails that pinned it down. In his heart of hearts he knew it was unlikely that she was right, but he couldn’t shake the theory now. 

‘I’ll come back,’ he confirmed to himself, ‘even if there’s nothing, it doesn’t hurt to try.’

* * *

The next time he came back, it was over a week later with a camera around his neck, a notebook weighing heavy in his pocket and anticipation that bubbled in his gut. While he knew that there would likely be nothing more than the usual dust bunnies (that would no doubt wave mockingly at him should he turn out to be wasting his time) and spiders, he was determined to look anyway. Inside, he could see a figure moving around, a broom in their hands as they swept the floor - their expression unreadable due to the distance. 

Yangyang took a deep breath, telling himself to stop being a loser, before he walked up to the door, knocking on the glass of the door. There was no movement made towards him and he knocked again, the sound making him cringe slightly. 

However, just as he was about to try again, the door opened and the owner looked back at him - the broom held at his side with an unamused expression on his visage. “Is something the matter?”

“Hello, I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions? About your store?” Yangyang spoke, smiling a little to try and appeal to the man’s (hopefully present) soft side. 

“You’re a little late,” He responded dryly, though didn’t close the door like he’d been half expecting. “All the questions have been asked.”

“Ah no, just some kind of unrelated questions - nothing too repetitive I hope.”

The owner sighed, opening the door fully and allowing him to come in. It was as empty as the weeks previous and he found it unnerving to look around at the bare displays and stark white mannequin busts. “Go ahead. Ask whatever you want.”

Fiddling with the insides of his pockets momentarily, he brought out his notebook and clicked his pen on, two pairs of eyes shifting to the page. “Is the place above the shop yours?”

“I own it, yes.”

“Did the police check up there after they came?”

His brows furrowed, the broom shifted to his left hand. Clearly, like Yangyang'd assumed, no one else had asked this. “They did, but they came back down quickly and said there’d been no signs of entry from there either. I didn’t go up though, just let them in.”

Clicking his pen again, Yangyang scribbled down a few quick notes before deciding he could try to push his luck. “Is it alright if we go up there now? I’d like to look around.”

“I don’t know if there's a point.”

“I’ll be quick.”

A moment of silence passed before a nod, broom left perched against the wall as he reached into his pocket to bring out keys. They were all oddly polished, one of them glistening in a way that likened itself to the purest of platinum: while not brazen in its display of wealth, it was still inherently clear that the jewellery shop’s owner was more than well off. “Alright, but make it fast. I still have things to clean up.”

Resisting the urge to utter a pleased 'fuck yeah!', he instead followed quietly behind the man and waited for him to open the door at the back of the shop. The surroundings were as unassuming as ever, nothing too interesting aside from a desk and neatly arranged folders. "Was any money stolen from here?"

"No. There was nothing touched, it was only the front."

Yangyang nodded, his excitement spiking when he heard the lock click open and the door swing - hinges creaking a little. Just from a quick glance around him as he walked, it was clear that this passageway wasn't used very often. Honestly, the huge cobwebs spoke for themselves and he had to use all his self control to not squeal in fear when he saw a long-legged spider run too close for comfort by his foot.

They both went through the doorway, the place completely barren save for matted brown carpet and rolled up rugs. There weren't any walls to divide the space, only exposed rafters and the creaking of the board on the windows as the breeze made them rattle. He could hardly believe that this existed within the same realm as the luxury below. 

"I'll give you five minutes."

That was more than enough time to make or break his spirit.

He first went to the boarded up window, looking at it from the inside and inspecting the nails. While one of them did look like they had been pulled out, he had no way of telling if that had been done recently. "Exc-"

A loud ringtone interrupted his sentence, the owner holding up a finger as he looked at the screen. "I need to take this, one moment." 

"It's fine. It was nothing important." He waved it away, moving away from the window and now walking along the edges of the room. Every surface was smothered with layers of dust, likely having built up over a multitude of years where there was no one to disturb it. 

In the background he could hear the owner talk to someone about how the police had yet to find any evidence or leads, his frustration clear as he practically spat out the name 'the smiler'.

He began to look on the floor, trying to see if there was any footprints or dirt prints that could have suggested entry, but there was practically nothing. With every second that ticked by, it was growing increasingly clear that there was nothing to find. 

The heavy feeling of disappointment weighed in his chest and he could only lament how he really hadn't prepared himself for not finding anything. Perhaps it was also written in his destiny to be a glorified quiz maker. 

Dragging his feet over the carpet, he made his way back to the doorframe where the owner was still busy talking. Yet, just as he was a couple of meters away, his foot caught on something and he tripped - the floor rushing frighteningly fast towards him before he managed to brace himself. 

"What the hell..." He grumbled, cursing the universe for handing him L after L. The man didn't even bother to come over and help, only raising a brow questioningly as he brushed himself off and got up. 

He glanced at the small lump that had made him trip and it was practically unnoticeable to the wandering eye. Reaching towards it, he decided to tug on the lump and blinked as it peeled away, sticky strands of clear glue being produced as he did so. 

It stuck to the carpet behind it, letting him look at the floorboards underneath. Again, to someone who wasn't looking properly, there was nothing to see, but Yangyang quickly saw the lines that were etched into the board. He took a picture, capturing the glue splattered floor before picking up the corner and furrowing his brows as it opened up like a hatch. 

Another picture was snapped and he looked on the underneath of the hatch. A smiley stared him in the face, the x marked eyes glimmering cheekily even under the lowlight. "Did the police find this?" He questioned and the owner paused, looking towards him and coming over quickly. 

"No. What is th- Shit," he lifted the phone to his ear, "I'll call you back in a minute. This kid's just found something." Very faintly, a confused sounding voice could be heard, though it was cut off by a single press. "What is that?"

"I don't know. I just found it." Taking yet another picture, Yangyang left the camera in his left hand as he pushed down on the grey patch that was revealed. The thing gave way under the pressure, falling down to the ground below with a loud thud. 

The place underneath, quite clearly, was the jewellery store. 

A total of around two and half seconds passed before the owner was cussing, furiously bringing up the caller pad on his phone. "Fucking police can't do their job," he hissed, staring angrily at the stark white flooring that was revealed. "God, bunch of lazy bastards."

"Uh," Yangyang interrupted, "do I have your permission to write an article about this?" 

"Yeah. Use whatever the hell you want, here, write this too: The police are incapable of doing their damn jobs." Yangyang would have laughed if he wasn't concentrating on not cheering, the grin he was holding back making the muscles in his cheeks ache. He figured it wouldn't be very polite if he did that right now. 

At least now his time that he'd previously deemed wasted, was actually worth something, and that something came in the form of the article that he outlined and wrote in record breaking time. 

His eyes barely left his laptop screen the entire time, fingers creating indents in his keyboard keys as he wrote as fast as he could: waiting, rewriting; rewording until everything was perfect and he sent it to his editor with a deservedly smug ':)!'.

* * *

When Yangyang woke up the next day, it was to bleary eyes and the sound of his phone notifications going off with a vigour he wasn’t used to. Grumbling a little to himself, he pulled the covers over his head and closed his eyes again, wanting to go back to sleep. But, of course, no one would ever let him rest and his ringtone blasted and turned off before he could accept. “God.”

Sticking a hand out of his warm haven, he searched around with his hand before finding the phone on the bedside desk and grabbing it. The light from the screen made him hiss and he quickly turned it down while squinting. 

‘204 new messages from ‘old man and the not old mans’

‘4 messages from bastard editor’

‘2 Missed calls from Kun-ge’

Deciding to deal with the elephant in the room later, he pressed on the group chat and didn’t bother reading all the messages. 

Yangyang: yooo

Yangyang: someone tell me what u said. Don’t feel like reading all that 🤣🤣

Kunhang: ur so lazy 😐

Kunhang: @kun-ge

Kun-ge: YANGYANG

Dejun: How the fuck did you find that shit out before the police did?

Ten-ge: Congrats, ur not doing noodles anymore

Yangyang: Fuck off ge

Yangyang: get a different joke 🙄🙄

Yangyang: 😆 the owner let me inside to look around and I found it

Yangyang: tbh I wasn’t expecting to find shit either

Sicheng-ge: The owner let you in?

Yangyang: yeahhh

Yangyang: but I can’t take all the credit

Xuxi: wdym 🤥

Ten-ge: he lied out of his ass and got it right

Kun-ge: 😂😂

Yangyang: 🙃

Yangyang: nah. This girl told me her theory and I decided to check it out

Sicheng-ge: And u didn’t credit her? Louis should bite u 

Dejun: Poor Louis

Yangyang: I didn’t get her name or face 😶

Yangyang: but if I meet her again then I will

Xuxi: mama always said there’s a woman behind a man’s success

Xuxi: guess it’s true 🤣🤣😂

The group chat erupted into a multitude of laughing emojis that had Yangyang rolling his eyes as he exited out of the group chat; it was too early to deal with all of them (minus the fact that it was 2 in the afternoon). But as a result, he now had to bite the bullet and look at the messages from his editor, a thing that was beyond rare as he preferred to shit on him over email.

Bastard Editor: Your article was very good

Bastard Editor: My boss actually told me that there hasn’t been an article getting traffic like this for a while

Bastard editor: There was nothing to edit. Good job

Yangyang felt like he was dreaming, even rubbing his eyes to check that he wasn’t hallucinating. Never in his 2 years of working at the firm had his editor bothered to compliment him or even really say anything beyond ‘I’ll post that today’ if his article was especially good. 

Bastard editor: If you can make another article like that then that promotion you want might be coming your way

Yangyang: omg thank you! 😊

Yangyang: I’ll try to get another. But I don’t know when for

Throwing the covers off of him, he sat up and stretched, letting himself bask in his own glory for a few moments before getting up. It was best to get some work done while he was still motivated and willing to do it (and also because he could hear Louis meowing again for his dinner despite having been fed by the automatic machine he’d set up).

Padding out of his room, he felt Louis before he heard him, paws on his legs as he meowed, tail swaying back and forth as his pupils dilated to obscure the blue irises. “Okay, okay. I’ll give you your food. Come here.” He picked him up, cradling him like a newborn baby as he walked into the kitchen. “I’ll give you some wet food today, just because I’m feeling nice.”

Louis only blinked, licking his legs clean as Yangyang opened the cupboards and brought out the food. Having to do everything one handed was a hassle, but he didn’t really mind - he was more pleased that Louis wasn’t pretending he didn’t exist. Squatting down, he ripped the packet open with his teeth and winced as he accidentally tasted some of the meat, letting it slide into the bowl before grabbing a fork and stabbing it into small pieces as best he could. He then immediately followed it up by filling his water bowl up too. “There you go.”

Jumping out of his hold, Louis went to town on the food while Yangyang stood and watched him for a moment, mesmerised by how feral he could be while eating. Sucking in air through his teeth, Yangyang left him to it and looked in the fridge, deciding to eat some leftovers as some sort of compromise between lunch and breakfast. The leftover hotpot was left to warm up in the microwave as he looked at his phone, looking over the messages that had been sent in the group chat earlier and seeing that they had linked a few articles of the other places the Smiler had hit. 

The locations were interesting, close to each other but not enough that they would have known they’d be targeted next. He wrote down the locations in his notes, wanting to see if they all had something in common right before the microwave dinged and he was fishing out the pot with his sleeve covering his fingers from the hot metal bowl he’d so intelligently used.

Taking it out with minimally burnt fingers, he gingerly held it while heading back into the living room - seeing that Louis had already finished half of his food. 

After putting down the bowl, he pulled out his laptop and flopped down onto his specially bought gaming chair. A map was opened up with locations added in, the inside of his cheek chewed on before he spooned some of his ‘brunch’ into his mouth. Yangyang slurped on the broth, musing over what he was seeing and swinging on the chair, feet pushing on the back of the desk as he did so. 

Nothing the Smiler did seemed to be done without thought and Yangyang could only assume that they would have put some of that same intuition into picking their target stores. Each red dot on the map blinked on the screen, teasing him as he leant further back in his seat. 

"There's gotta be something here," he said, sighing a little as he spun side to side, kicking his feet under the desk in boredom. 

No matter how hard he tried to find a correlation or some sort of pattern, there was nothing. 

Luckily for him though, Louis had finished eating and had strutted back into the living room, giving Yangyang the distraction he desperately wanted.

"Pspsps, Louis." He stuck his hand out, trying to encourage the cat to come closer. “Come here. I’ll even let you bite my hand.”

Louis chirped, coming towards him and letting Yangyang pet him, fingers running through the white and brown fur as he moved into his lap. “That’s what I thought.”

But, of course, Yangyang should have kept quiet and let Louis do what he wanted because as soon as he spoke, the feline stalked away from him and towards his laptop, tail wagging side to side slowly and daintily in a way that only Louis could pull off. Pawing at the screen, he seemed to be especially enamoured with the red dots that flickered periodically, swiping at them and looking at his paw expectantly afterwards.

“Dumbo,” Yangyang sniggered, playing with his tail and winding it around his fingers. “Blink if you’re a dumb cat.”

Louis meowed before suddenly batting at his keyboard, swatting furiously at the keys with his claws out, the screen swapping and changing as Yangyang yelped, grabbing the laptop and holding it above his head. “I was only kidding! You’re not dumb, sorry.”

Almost trying to climb him, he perched on his hind legs and mewled, trying to get to his toy again before giving up as he decided curling up on the sofa was more worth his time. “Demon cat,” the frazzled boy muttered, using his arm to hide it from view. 

Just as predicted, the screen had been messed with: the display rotated at an odd angle with multiple new apps and programmes opened. Closing them all, he glanced for a split second at the map before gasping out loud. The dots that once had no significance to each other, now formed a shape that looked similar enough to half a face, a slight curve almost distinguishable. “I take that back. I love you so fucking much, Louis! Come here and let me give you a kiss.”

As expected, he was ignored but Yangyang didn't care in the slightest, zooming in on the map and looking for any stores in the areas that completed the figure. There were a multitude of jewellers along the roads, but Yangyang knew that they only targeted the wealthier owners. 

He looked up each owner, trying to find any that met the criteria that he had sussed out: anyone that was well off and lived within a few miles radius of the empty spaces that completed the smile. A few minutes of searching turned into almost an hour of analysing, his education in research giving him an advantage as he finally narrowed it down to three different stores that fit. One completed the right eye, the others finished the smile, now all he had to do was pick one.

“Louis, pick a number from 1 to 3,” he said, wiggling his fingers as Louis lifted his head, reaching out to grab at them and brushing his middle finger. “Number 2 it is then.”

‘Jongno Jewellery opening times’ was the first thing he googled, followed by a document being pulled up where he wrote down the hours. It was incredibly, let's say, ballsy, for him to be considering staking the place out by himself, but with the new found confidence that was boosting his ego, he just couldn't pass up the opportunity. 

Sending the notes to his phone, he got up and grabbed his camera and a jacket, though paused to brush Louis and coo over him for a few minutes before leaving - a promise to buy him a new toy lingering in the air as the front door closed.

* * *

This building was set out a little differently to the previous one he had been at, for instance, it wasn’t independently owned, but a chain store that many people knew of and had presumably passed by when going about their day. There wasn’t a two step entry system, but there was high quality security that dominated the corners and crannies of the store. Yangyang looked around, seeing that there weren't many people around in the area, the city of Seoul entering its sleepier phase of lessening traffic and thinning crowds. He didn’t really have much to do either since it was still open, a few employees lingering inside as they cleaned the windows and displays, clearly waiting for people to come in.

He looked around at the entrances, taking a few pictures as discreetly as he could, blending himself in as an eager photographer who just wanted to get shots of the high streets of Seoul. Everything was airtight, the windows fitted with locks and the door thick with clearly impenetrable glass. The Smiler would have trouble clearing out this store, but something in him said that it wouldn’t be impossible for them to do. 

The sun was beginning to set, the sky set alight in hues of deep red and orange, lilts of lilac streaking across rouge hues with fervour that made people stop and stare. Even he couldn’t resist taking a picture or two of sunset. Though, he was beginning to get tired and the store would be closing at any moment now. The fleeting thought that he was wasting his time made his eyebrows furrow together before he pushed it away. This was investigative journalism! He had to be onto something with the direction he was going in! There was no doubt that the Smiler would strike again within the coming days, the time between each break in usually a couple of weeks or so.

Groaning a little, he pulled his jacket closer and walked to a nearby bakery, deciding he could do with a few snacks before he hung around for a couple hours too many afterwards. With baked goods under his wing, he could convince himself to stay even after the sun fully set and the sky developed into a sombre shade of navy blue, stars starting to twinkle as he yawned, slumping into the bench he had decided to hog. 

The taste of chocolate coated his taste buds, the pain au chocolat his current comfort as the temperature dropped and made the hair on the back of his neck rise. Nothing was happening, the trees swaying in the background and the wildlife going quiet, everything as unassuming as ever. Yawning a little, he pulled out his phone, seeing that it had just turned a little past 11pm. There had been no new news either on the other jewellery stores. 

‘I’ll stay here for two more hours,’ he thought, the collar of the jacket now pulled up to his chin, ‘if they come afterwards, that’s not my problem.’

The minutes trudged past, time seemingly slowing to a halt while the earth was bathed in an ink-like darkness, the only light coming from the concentrated rays of the moon and lamp posts. He got up and did laps around the store, looking at both the back and the front for any signs of intrusion (and also to stop his legs from falling asleep) before he found himself staring at his phone and the nanny cam he’d set up for Louis, the cat curled up and fast asleep in his bed. Yangyang’d never thought he’d be envious of his pet. 

Nonetheless, he sat back down on the bench and played with his camera, messing around with the buttons and setting as he took a picture of the night sky, zooming in and trying to find a constellation that Kun had told him about before. Even so, no matter how much he tried to keep himself awake, the lull of unconsciousness was too great and he fell asleep against the bench, the world remaining quiet as he dreamt of catching the criminal in the act and the grandeur that would follow.

* * *

Revving reverberated around the area, echoing off the walls and creating an echochamber that startled him awake, his ears ringing from both the cold and the obscenely loud noise. Yangyang rubbed his eyes before sighing deeply and coughing as the cold air stung the back of his throat. His arms and legs felt stiff, his limbs still asleep as his fingers refused to move easily. Reaching towards his pocket, something fluttered from his lap to the ground and he looked down, seeing a white square of paper now lying flat on the floor. That definitely hadn’t been there before. 

Turning it around and picking it up, his heart stuttered from something else other than cold, the blood draining from his face. ‘You’re the reporter that figured it out, huh? How cute of you. That girl helped, didn’t she? I hope you can get an article out of this too since you’re a key witness, or rather, would have been. Shame you were asleep. x‿x’. 

He stood up so fast that his vision blacked out for a second, running over to where he had heard the revving from and cursing loudly when there was no trace left behind - not even a tyre mark to indicate that they were there. There was nothing different about the store from the back, but as soon as he went to look at the side, he saw the employee door wide open, swinging unabashedly with the night’s breeze. 

“Fuck!” He was beyond exasperated, his one shot to see the smiler ruined by his own inability to remain awake. “What the hell do I do now?” And the overwhelmingly clear answer was do nothing himself and to call the police. He may have struck gold previously, but now, he had to give it up for a little while.

Taking a picture of the note, he made sure not to handle it too much and placed it on the bench, ringing the emergency line and saying what had happened with a glaringly apparent sour tone that only melded with the adrenaline that pulsed through him; Yangyang could barely tell if what he was saying was comprehensible. Though, clearly he’d done his job right as within ten minutes, the road was alight with red and blue - a sight not dissimilar to that of what he’d seen on screen a few weeks ago. 

They interrogated him, almost seeming to suspect him before he handed over the note, the signature easily recognisable along with the realisation of who he was. 

Yangyang could tell that some of the officers were a little tight lipped at having to interact with him after he showed them up, but everyone had to work with people they found unpleasant and he didn't take it too personally. 

By the time he had finished up, the time was well past 3am and he could barely keep his eyes open, feeling like he would fall asleep on the spot as he called for a taxi - cursing himself multiple times for not buying a car like he was told to.

Nonetheless, by the time he had gotten home and collapsed on the sofa, he was out like a light - making a mental note to go back after he had woken up.

And that he did, as soon as he woke up and had played with Louis, he was back in front of the store. Everything was left the same as when he had left earlier that day: still as deserted, still as quiet.

There wasn't much left to see and he knew that he should have been at home writing another article right about now. Despite this, he still continued to stare at the employee door.

"I thought I'd see you around this place." The voice was startlingly familiar and he turned around with wide eyes. "You manage to find anything interesting, mr reporter?"

Yangyang gaped, only just stopping himself from letting his jaw hang open as he looked over the one woman that had been plaguing his thoughts. "You're here!" He exclaimed, not caring about the crime scene anymore and instead walking towards her with a sense of urgency. "Please could I talk to you? I just need a few minutes."

"Are you finished with this place?" She asked, face still mostly obscured by the hood of her coat (though he did note that it was a different one from last time). "If you are, then yeah, sure. 

He opened his mouth to speak, though the sound of honking and cars passing by interrupted him and he pursed his lips - nodding instead.

"There's a café near. We can go there."

"Okay." 

He followed behind her, walking down the road and past the multitudes of people who were staring at the store, though he couldn't be too annoyed considering that was him just mere moments ago. 

The café that she had mentioned was, in fact, very close, only taking a maximum of three minutes to reach it before she was pulling out a chair and sitting down, waiting for him to do the same. For some reason, he felt as though he was the one being questioned, his fingers drumming nervously against his thigh before he cleared his throat. 

"Thank you so much for your help on the article. It was because of you that I decided to go in and look," he started, mouth going dry as his eyes darted to shadowed face before he looked somewhere else. "I owe it to you, really."

"It's okay," she reassured, voice mellow yet he could hear the slightest lilt of mirth in the tone. "You don't have to thank me for that. It was just a silly theory that turned out to be true."

"Still, I'd like to credit you," Yangyang insisted, wanting to at least add her to the acknowledgments.

The hood was pulled down with one hand, the other waving away his concerns with an unbothered 'you don't need to' ringing in the air. 

However, any stance of insistence he was going to take up seemed to die away almost instantly as soon as he saw her face, the sudden light making her countenance glow despite the sun being sheltered behind thick, gloomy clouds. 

If he had to pick one adjective to describe the woman in front of him, it would have been simply as pretty. She was pretty in every sense of the word, with a visage that seemed to draw you in with nothing more than a mere glance in her direction.

Her features were smooth, gliding easily into one another as he stayed silent for a couple of moments to look at her. Each little curve of her features seemed to melt into the overall picture of beauty, her eyes seemingly glowing as raised an eyebrow questioningly. Yangyang knew he was staring, but for those few seconds, he couldn't have cared less.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just- I-" He could feel the heat of embarrassment threatening to tint his skin once again, but thankfully, he managed to push it down with a deep inhale. "I was actually here last night when the Smiler came and they left a note on my lap. It mentioned you, not like, by name or anything, but just as 'the girl.'" 

"Oh. Do you have the note with you?"

"No. I had to give it in as evidence, but-" he reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and showing her the picture, "maybe they saw us talking?"

She shrugged, leaning back into the chair with her hands stuffed into the pockets. "Could be, I've heard of criminals going back to the crime scene. Do you have any suspicions on who it is now?"

"Honestly? No. I don't think there's a use in me having any anyway, the police will find it before me."

"You never know. Maybe you'll hit gold."

"Maybe," he mused, watching her stand up before doing the same, getting ready to go back home and outline another article. "I'll see you around then?"

"Probably, but one second." She looked around before taking a napkin from the centre of the table and handing him a pen. Could I have your email?" 

Yangyang gave her a bewildered look. "Email?" He echoed, pen hovering inches above the napkin, "don't you want my number instead?"

"You that eager to give me it?" 

The flush that he had worked so hard to combat was now coming back full force, his head lowered as he quickly scribbled down his email and handed back both the napkin and pen. 

"Thank you." 

Nodding silently, Yangyang watched as she tucked them into her pocket and walked away, not looking back at him again as he felt a vague sense of deja vu. 

You really did meet odd people on the job.

* * *

The article that he had written, much like the previous one, had blown up within a day. All the hours that he had spent hunched over his laptop were well worth it for the views and clicks that had come later, a well deserved week’s break being taken for all his hard work (that and he would also be on the brink of a mental collapse if his editor said another nice word to him. It was too unnatural for him to stomach properly).

He had been counting on wasting his days away by doing exactly nothing, perhaps by ordering takeaway everyday or making his eyes and ears burn by playing overwatch with Donghyuck, maybe even going over to Ten’s place to harass him and his cat Leon; everything was within the realm of possibility when he had endless time.

Instead, he was currently waving around a toy, trying to get his moody moggie’s attention while being vehemently and unabashedly ignored. “Louis, come on. I’m doing this for your wellbeing, not mine,” he complained, waving the stick with a mouse near Louis’ face, the cat not moving even when the mouse smacked him in the face on accident. “You hate me, don’t you? I bet you’re sitting there and thinking of ways to kill me.” Louis didn’t say a word. “Seriously...”

It was only after he threw the toy in frustration that Louis got up, padding his way along to it and playing with the mouse between his paws - far away from Yangyang. 

Shaking his head, he decided that he might as well do some online shopping, maybe balenciaga had released some new shoes that he could flex (despite how hideous they were). Whatever his reasons, he grabbed the laptop and parked himself on the sofa, laying down with it resting on his chest. 

Pages of different clothing went by, with him umm’ing and ahh’ing over which ones to buy, deciding on a few new hoodies and jackets to have some packages to look forward to. Confirmation screens popped up and he almost flew to his emails, refreshing faster than they could send anything. He refreshed once, an ‘Order confirmation’ written in bold, before he refreshed again to see if the transaction had reached his bank. 

‘ **New Email from: Service @empty.com**

Subject: Hi (person from the crime scene)

He didn’t pay too much mind to it, thinking it was a spam email or maybe someone that had decided to prank him, and opened it up.

‘ **New Email from: Service @empty.com**

Subject: Hi (person from the crime scene)

Hey, random email, but it’s the girl from the café. I wanted to know if you would be interested in hearing some more of my theories?’

Yangyang pursed his lips, deciding to humour her. She hadn’t been wrong before, so why not?

‘ **Reply to Service@empty.com from Liuyang10@******.com** :

Yeah sure, hit me with it.’

Leaving the email tab open, he looked through more stores - this time looking at some of the plushies that he could add to his ever growing collection. A large whale plushie had caught his eye when he heard the message tone for another email. ‘That’s quick,’ he mused, wondering whether she had been waiting for his yes.

‘ **Reply to Liuyang10@******.com from 15563775@empty26.com** :

I’m very sure their next target is the jewellery store on west street: ‘Baozang’. They seem to go for places that are within 5 miles of the one they targeted previously. I’m not certain though of the timing, but I have a guess of next week on tuesday, just because they’ve hit on odd numbered days before. Would you like to come with me to see?’

His fingers tapped at the keyboard, not knowing whether or not he should have accepted. But, apparently his fingers worked faster than his brain at decision making and he was already typing out a reply. 

' **Reply to 15563775@empty26.com from Liuyang10@******.com** :

I'll be there. You want me to go there at like 1am?'

The reply was near enough instant. 'Yes,' it read, 'I'll see you there. Make sure to bring warm clothing, they say it'll be cold.'

And now it seemed like he had plans for next week, even if they weren't the most solid thing he'd ever organised.

* * *

When the day came, Yangyang made sure he was prepared. He had slept in longer specifically to keep himself up (as well as downing a fair few, and very disgusting, shots of espresso), and had made sure to put on his warmest overcoat - one that was padded enough to keep the chilly air from nipping at his skin and, as a bonus, had the deepest pockets he had ever had on a coat. His notebook, phone and pen fit easily within them with room left for his hands too.

As he made his way to the arranged meeting place, he stared at the picture of the store on his phone. 

Much like the previous one, it was settled within an area that saw many daily visitors, with a lush park just a little further down the road, however, the difference this time was that it was a smaller, privately owned shop that had supposedly been in the family for generations. The owners were a wealthy couple, a simple glance at their net worth giving him a headache with how many 0’s that were present. The Smiler’s usual target always seemed to change, never quite pinned down to one specific kind of demographic - aside from them all being shop owners. 

The taxi stopped, the driver telling him that they’d arrived at his destination. Thanking them quietly, he paid them and got out, the car speeding off before he could even turn around. ‘Damn,’ he thought, ‘guess 1am isn’t their favourite time to be outside.’ 

Yangyang groaned, rolling his shoulders as he took a deep breath in, the cold air making his throat feel like he had inhaled ice and extra minty gum. Nonetheless, he was determined to meet her and see if there was anything they could find, and even if there wasn’t, well he could just go home and sleep the following day away.

He walked down the road, passing the wedding dress boutique and the quaint coffee shop right beside it; he’d noticed that many of the wealthier areas had the same street layout: a pretty shop, a cafe and then some open areas that sometimes were connected to colossal residential spaces behind it. In all honesty, he found that rather boring. 

But his job right now wasn’t to critique the stale and lifeless way that the wealthy lived, his own vision of life becoming clearer the closer he got to the actual store. It took a little while to walk to it, the path longer than it had been depicted in the photos, and it was easy to see why the Smiler would have potentially chosen this more isolated area to attack next.

He stopped once he reached the front door, looking around at the sides to see if she was anywhere. There was no movement at all from either side and he was left to wonder if he had been stood up. 

'Stood up,' he scoffed, the sound echoing in the bare area he stood in, 'I can't even text her and ask where she is.'

He sighed, looking at his watch again and realising that it was nearly 2am, the taxi had taken a little longer than he thought it would. It was entirely plausible that she had already left after pinning him down as a no-show; Yangyang would've done the same in her position. 

Puffing out his cheeks, he scratched his head and moved around the building, willing to wait another quarter of an hour before he went back home. 

However, as soon as he turned the corner any and all thought of going home was gone - the gaudy yellow smiley face erasing all rationality from him. It stood out like a sore thumb against the inky colour of the shop, the depth of the night highlighting the neon accents of the paint.

"What the actual fuck?!" He exclaimed, completely taken back, his fingers automatically going to his neck to turn on his camera. He fiddled with it, trying to adjust the settings so the picture would appear the cleanest he could possibly get it. 

He looked up again and his only chance at capturing the drawing was gone because the next thing he knew, a person was jumping down from the roof, swinging from the edge with no care in the world before dropping down. He could only gape, the sound of his heartbeat in his ears becoming deafening as they ran towards him. 

Yangyang was dumbstruck, feet glued to the floor for a few crucial seconds before he was running himself, terrified to his wits end about what would happen if he was caught. 

The loose gravel made his foot slip, his palm scraping against the floor as he tripped, though he was even quicker to get up again. There was no known recordings of the Smiler being violent, but then again, what the fuck did he know?

The chill of the night felt a million times worse when it was whipping his face, his eyes starting to water from how the air slammed into him. And that watering was only amplified when he realised that they were gaining on him. 

Their footfalls were rapid, almost inhumanely fast. The irrational part of his brain told him that they weren't even touching the ground, simply gliding over it like a ghostly spectre. 

He had half a mind to beg them not to touch him, to say that he was simply admiring the view. Maybe they would be so baffled that they’d stop chasing him and let him go.

But, alas, his freedom was not written in his fate and the hand that grabbed onto his jacket was the final stroke of the pen on his freewill.

Before he could open his mouth to scream, a hand pressed against his lips - almost in warning - and he was jerked to the side. The ground swirled under him, the colours melting into each other as he felt himself get pushed into something. For a brief second he thought he was going to be thrown onto the road, a blinding light making him dizzy. But when he felt warmth wash over him and the sound of a car door closing at his side, he was snapped back into reality.

He was in a car. The shop was outside of the window. The smiley was getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller.

Scrambling for the handle, he tried to jerk it open, pulling on it multiple times and only feeling the dread in his gut grow when he found it to be locked. 

The taste of fear was disgustingly similar to copper, the smell of it akin to a delicate perfume that lingered for hours after the owner had left. All he could hear was his own heavy breathing, the smooth purr of the engine setting alight another terror within him. 

"Put on your seatbelt."

Yangyang's ears rang. 

"Huh?" He said, voice meek and barely audible. 

"Put your seatbelt on. I'm not getting pulled over because you didn't put it on." 

Yangyang almost had to stop his jaw from dropping, blinking owlishly as he stared right at them. Instead of having a coarse, harsh voice like he had been expecting, he found their tone to be almost mirthful, as if they were playing some sort of silly joke and were subtly poking fun at him. 

And while he didn't disobey, shaking fingers wrapping around the belt and tugging it over himself, he was still bewildered. This was The Smiler sat right beside him, maneouvering the car with the grace of a seasoned driver, and yet the feeling of gut wrenching fear was beginning to subside. In lieu of horror, the heavy, sickening emotion was replaced by something lighter, something potentially more deadly: curiosity. 

"W-How..." The syllables that normally fluidly ran off his tongue were becoming jumbled, his heart in his mouth and blocking any coherent words. "I- why...?"

Their hand remained on the wheel, the free one going to the mask and pulling it off entirely, the items discarded on their lap. However, upon doing so, it was startlingly clear that the they, was a she. A 'she' that he had his eyes turning into golf balls.

"It's you?!"

Her eyes caught his in the rear view mirror, hues set aflame with thrill and exhilaration - the colour of her irises shining brilliantly despite the scarce levels of light. He must have been hallucinating.

"What? You surprised?" She teased, lips curling into a cheeky smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t incriminate you.”

He gawked, the fear having subsided for the most part and he was now left with a curiosity that itched at him: the same kind that had drawn him to the case originally. 

“Why?” He asked, the singular word speaking more than enough for the confusion that was making his heart rate spike. 

“I just thought you should have some fun. It’s not like they’ll find out until the morning anyway.”

If he was confused before, Yangyang was mind boggled now. Had she not been driving with such clear calmness and precision, he would have thought she was high out of her mind. Speaking of driving, he noticed that they weren’t going down any main roads, dirt kicking up from the sides of the car at some points and spraying onto the barely visible grass. 

Eyeing her out of the corner of his eye, he pulled out his phone from his pocket as discreetly as he could, trying to go back into the emails and screenshot them. If he could back them up, he would have clear evidence of her being the one behind everything. Nonetheless, the world liked to play cruel tricks on him from time to time and no matter how far back he scrolled and searched, any and all traces of the email was gone. The only thing from that day was the online order confirmations.

“Don’t bother,” she spoke, not bothering to glance in his direction. “They’re gone now.”

He gulped, shoving his phone back into his pocket, fingers tapping nervously on the screen. Would it be worth it to risk it and call the police?

“Are… Are you gonna kill me?”

At this she laughed, laughed as though she had heard the funniest thing in the world. Yangyang only watched as she giggled, her features showing nothing save for amusement at the question. He almost felt insulted!

“No, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it by now.” While it was said with a teasing tone, he knew that she wasn’t joking, the glint in her eyes telling him that loud and frighteningly clear. “I only steal and do the occasional fucked up thing.” He didn’t bother asking how fucked up.

“But you always get away with it?” He let his fingers rest across the screen of his phone as he looked ahead, the brilliant beams from the headlights illuminating the seemingly endless expanse of road ahead of them. To him, the area was unfamiliar and new with something potentially lurking in every corner, though she clearly looked like she was in her element.

She shrugged. “Well, I don’t make it easy.” 

The car turned a corner, the lights irradiating the open fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. Each moment that passed only made the option of calling the police seem sweeter and better. However, she was always a few steps ahead of everyone else - he should’ve known that by now.

“I’ll know if you call them, Liu Yangyang.” She turned her head to look at him for a moment, her angelic visage an eerie contrast to how serious she looked. Flashes of moonlight trickled in through the windows and the windscreen, highlighting the contours and dips of her face. Her eyes seemed to glow, the breath forced from his lungs as he swallowed. “I’m trusting you not to snitch, and I fucking hate when people snitch me up.”

He nodded quickly, turning his phone off and putting his hands on his lap so she could see them. “I won’t,” he said, both to appease her and also because he, now that he thought about it, didn’t want to. It was one thing that he knew that everyone else didn’t, something that the police would have near enough killed to find out, and he quite liked having that game changer in the palm of his hand - as morbid as that sounded even to himself.

“Great.” She smiled, brightening up and sitting straighter in her seat, her leg bouncing in a steady rhythm. “You wanna hear a story?”

Yangyang didn’t reply.

“It’s always really funny to me to send the police on a wild goose chase, but they’re so blind to the clues I give them. I know they’re looking for me though, I only ever steal from filthy rich fuckers and it’s those same fuckers that the police are most bothered about.” There was silence for a few moments before he spoke.

“That’s not a story.”

The corners of her lips curled upwards, the car speeding up a little more. “My mistake, I meant an anecdote.” 

The car drove for a few more minutes in silence, comfortable for her but unnerving to him. He wanted to say that she seemed harmless, yet judging by everything he had seen and witnessed first hand, he couldn’t confidently say that now. Even so, for all the weird things she had done, he didn’t feel unsafe.

“Where do you want me to drop you off?” Her voice cut through the quiet, his heart jumping a little from surprise.

“I-uh, just at, like, a bus stop or something.”

She didn’t comment on how buses didn’t run this late. 

Lights from the city’s skyline began to twinkle, becoming more pronounced as they drove back in. Apparently she had just preferred to go the scenic route instead.

They approached one of the stops, his knuckles turning white as he clutched the handle. “Hey, could I borrow your phone?” At his hesitation, she held up her hands innocently. “I’m not going to bug it or anything. I’m a thief, not a liar.”

The passenger lock was turned off and he was free to leave if he wanted to, the choice weighing on him before, ultimately, he decided on giving the unlocked device to her.

She brought out her own phone and held it next to his, seemingly transferring something. A few seconds later, he was handed it back and ushered out with a wave, the car speeding off before he could breathe another word.

On the screen, in crystalline quality, was a picture of the smile.

* * *

The months that had followed had nothing. There was no new break-in's to report on and without that steady stream of news, Yangyang had been pushed back to writing half-arsed articles of whatever nonsense cropped up. Just within the last week, he had written about a goat farmer’s escaped kids that had broken into homes and chewed people's sofas to bits. 

Yangyang had almost started giving up hope on ever having something interesting to do and he knew he would go crazy if he had to write anymore meaningless quizzes. But it seemed, whenever he was just starting to lose his edge, something would always come up to gain his attention - and this time, it was in the form of an email from his editor. 

**'New email from Kjseo01@******.com**

Subject: New Event

I just got an email from my boss about an invite for you to go to one of the parties hosted by Jeong Seungwoo, The CEO of KE industries. It’s on the 24th this month. There will be lots of high profile people there for you to interview and you’ll probably get a good story by going there. Print out the invite and take an ID with you & I’ll forward you the boss’ email. Make sure to get something interesting.’

Typical, Yangyang thought, of course he had no choice in whether or not he wanted to go, but he supposed it was better than being stuck at home and doing nothing. He just needed to find a suit and force himself to talk to a load of boring people for a while - so basically do his job as normal.

‘ **Reply to Kjseo01@******.com from Liuyang10@******.com** :

I wish you would leave me tf alone 😒😒. Go write your own article 🙄’ 

‘ _Saved to drafts_ ’.

He closed the laptop, shoving it under the coffee table and instead went to Louis who was sitting curled up on his phone. “Lou, hey Louis, move.” The cat didn’t even open his eyes, his ears only flicking a little to acknowledge Yangyang. “Yo, you’re sitting on my phone.”

Louis dropped his head into his paws.

“Wow…” He picked up the cat, ignoring how he meowed and squirmed, and put him at the other end of the sofa so he could take the device. 

As he picked it up, he could see notifications rolling in from one of the group chats he was in - the topic not quite clear.

Yangyang: Wassup 😁

Yangyang: What r u guys talking abt? 

Yuta: I swear u never read the messages

Yangyang: There’s like 700 of them 

Yangyang: so what’s going on ?? 🤨

Shotaro: We were thinking of going to Taeyong-hyung’s house 

Taeyong: Do you guys like boba?

Taeyong: Are you free, yang-ah? You should come if you are :)

Ten: Boba… 

Dejun: anything wrong w it????

Yuta: Only gay people have boba

Taeyong: ㅋㅋㅋ why do you think I offered that?

Mark: Wow 😅 maybe we should all get to hyung's place first

Donghyuck: yh i agree

Donghyuck: we should go there at like 2:30

Jungwoo: shall we bring snacks?

Taeyong: you don't need to 😊

Yuta: yeah

Ten: bring as many as u can carry in those big ass arms 

Yangyang: okay so 2:30 it is?

The replies of 'yes' flooded in quickly to confirm the time, the clock striking half one right as he looked at it. That left him an hour to get ready to head out (though he would barely need more than 5 minutes maximum). Yangyang was quite thankful for this actually, he needed some social 'sane' social interaction before he started to talk to himself. Though maybe hanging out with this gaggle of people wasn't the best option. Truthfully, what other options did he have? Aside from bothering Louis continuously that is.

Nonetheless, when he finally bothered to change his hoodie into a jacket with 10 minutes till the arranged meeting time, he began to chase around the cat. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he warned as Louis dove behind the sofa and out of his reach. “Fine. I won’t make you come with me, but Ten-ge will be sad.”

Louis meowed.

“You’re right. Who gives a shit.” Sticking his hand down the gap, he pet Louis’ head before walking out of the door, getting to Taeyong’s place only 15 minutes late.

Like expected, only half of the group had actually come in on time. All of them sat scattered in the living room, some sprawled across the floor with their phone in their hands and others sitting like sardines in a can on the sofas.

“Someone’s early,” Donghyuck remarked, trying to kick at his shins when he walked in, narrowly missing but getting a foot to his backside as payback. “Ow, ow, okay!”

“I’m earlier than-” Yangyang looked around, “Mark, Jungwoo-hyung and Ten-ge. I’d say that’s good enough.”

“Those guys wouldn’t come on time even if their lives depended on it.” Yuta rolled his eyes, shifting so he was laying against Taeyong’s side. “You should order the drinks now, whoever comes in last can go and get it.”

“Everyone’s order’s the same, right?” Upon a collective nod, Taeyong went on his phone, patting the seat beside him for Yangyang to sit down on. “Anything extra?”

Dejun moved his hand, covering the screen before Taeyong could put his card details in. “Nope, but you’re not paying again. Someone else volunteer.”

“Why don’t you?” Yangyang remarked, though instantly regretted it when multiple eyes were on him at once. 

“You know,” Shotaro said, a cheeky smile on his face, “since you had so much success with your articles, I think you should pay for it. Big shot reporter Yangyang probably has spare change.”

Did he ever mention how much he hated all of them and that’s why he never wanted to meet up with them again? Because he hated all of them and never wanted to meet with them again. 

Ans once an idea was planted in their minds, there was no use in trying to get them to change it. “Yangyang pays!” Donghyuck started chanting, “Yangyang pays! Yangyang pays!”

The rest of them began chanting too, the room echoing their battle cries until he was forced to wave the white flag.

“Okay, okay,” he tutted, taking the phone from Taeyong and putting his own details in, “happy?”

“Very,” Ten chimed in, followed immediately by the other two who were missing, “it’s always nice when the didi finally coughs up.”

“It’s also nice when the three stooges decide to show up,” Taeyong teased, only for Jungwoo to sit directly on him and smother him. He didn’t complain, however, instead embracing Jungwoo happily. “Mark was last, you have to go get it.”

“Get what?”

“Jesus christ-”

“He’s already got that.”

This time Donghyuck was silenced with a pillow to the face by Mark himself. 

“Get the drinks,” Taeyong clarified, the room becoming quiet instantly. “It’s just the one down the road. It’ll be done in around 10 minutes.”

Mark didn’t kick up a fuss, resigning himself to his fate of being the coffee boy, and he sat down on the floor next to Dejun’s legs. 

The chatter was idle for a few minutes, all of them waiting for their drinks to come until Mark was ushered away to go get them.

Yangyang found himself melting into the sofa, letting Jungwoo pet his hair and twirl it around his fingers absentmindedly. Sometimes it was nice not to be sat at his place by himself - even if his crazy was replaced with a collective insanity instead.

When Mark returned, the drinks were handed out to each individual (with Jungwoo pinching his cheek in thanks), they were back to being louder and more obnoxious.

“Are we going to have an orgy or what?” Yuta said, multiple dirty looks punctuating his sentence for him. “What? Why else would you have 9 men in the same room?”

“No offense, hyung, but sometimes you should shut up,” Donghyuck replied, covering his face as Yuta spat a boba pearl at him. “Ew, what the fuck!”

“We won’t be having an orgy, but we will be asking some questions.” All eyes turned to Yangyang again and he desperately wished they would stop doing that. It felt like he was about to get jumped. “Like how the fuck this guy managed to get three articles about the Smiler when there’s barely anything on them.”

If he could have throttled Donghyuck, he would have without any hesitation. “I just got lucky,” he replied. “I basically, like, asked the owner if I could look around and he said yeah.”

Dejun snorted beside him, shifting his leg onto Yangyang’s lap. “Yeah, heard the dude went on to give an interview calling the police a bunch of fucking idiots.”

“They are.” Shotaro added, sipping on his drink. 

The fingers playing with his hair paused for a moment. “But what about the note you got the second time? You were literally there, you must have seen them. What do they look like?”

“....I was asleep and I saw the note when I woke up.”

A collective groan followed his words and he felt the wet plop of a pearl hitting his forehead. “Gross! Fuck you whoever did that.”

“Hear that, mark? He wants to fuck you.”

“Shut up,” Yangyang snarked, wiping his head with the tissue that Yuta passed down the row. “I actually had to go to the police station for that. They thought I was involved but cleared me after cuz I had like a bunch of alibis.”

“Yo, that’s actually super cool,” Mark said, his voice a little muffled as he chewed a mouthful of boba, his teeth covered in black as he flashed a childish grin to everyone looking. “Did you get anything for it?”

Yangyang shrugged. “Not really. I just have to go to some stupid event by Jeong Seungwoo or whatever.”

This seemed to catch everyone’s attention fully, with Ten straightening up and looking at him through narrowed eyes. “What are you wearing?”

“I don’t… know?” He admitted carefully, knowing he was treading on thin ice discussing fashion.

“He’s going to pull out one of his grandad’s fucking suits.”

“True. We need to find him something before he embarrasses himself in front of a bunch of models.” Yangyang couldn’t find it in him to be offended, knowing deep down that they were right and that he would’ve just rented a simple and boring black suit to sport. Maybe a tie too if he was feeling adventurous.

Jungwoo giggled, patting his head again.. “I’d offer you one of mine, but you’re a bit too tall to fit in them.”

He chose to politely ignore that comment.

“I think we’d be around the same size. I can bring out the ones I have and you can see if you want to borrow any of them?” Taeyong offered instead, ushering Jungwoo off of his lap to rush to his room, not bothering to wait for his input - as if it would have mattered considering how everyone began to buzz with energy at the proposed fashion show.

“Yang-ah, get up,” Dejun instructed, shoving him off the sofa, “go stand in the middle.”

The crowd cleared and he was put centre stage, Taeyong coming back in with his arms full to eye level with different outfits for him to try.

“Do I have a say in this?” He asked, shrugging off his jacket.

A maroon blazer was passed over to Ten who stood behind him. “Fuck no. Stand there and look pretty.”

And so he did exactly that. He spun around like they wanted, even doing a few poses that made Shotaro nearly cry from how hard he was laughing. 

“He looks like a fucking gigolo in that,” came a comment, and they knew they had to swap. His arms were grabbed and shoved into the sleeves of another blazer, someone fixing the collar while someone else pulled his ear just to annoy him.

“What about this one?” Yuta asked, looking pleased with himself at his pick of an emerald tinted suit. Does he look like enough of a whore or not?” 

“Bit too whorish if I’m honest.” Dejun shot him down and they shoved him into another one. He really felt like a girl in a coming of age film getting made over (and he couldn’t say he didn’t like it).

Finally, after going through two more, the group seemed to have reached a consensus. It was a deep, rich navy blue, unassuming otherwise had it not been for the embroidered roses that wound down the length of the right arm and around the back, curling around the waist to create a snake like pattern of beautiful flora. It was definitely one of the more fancier ones, but considering where he was supposed to be going, it wasn’t nearly as flashy as it could be.

“Great,” Taeyong said, clapping his hands together with a light in his eyes - clearly having enjoyed the time playing dress up - “you’ll be the prettiest princess at the ball.”

* * *

Even when he approached the building and was let inside, he still felt like he was having a fever dream. Everything shone, polished beyond belief and refracting light at every given angle. Stained glass windows let in coloured beams of light, illuminating the floor and also highlighting the obscenely large buffet table that Yangyang would definitely check out. 

It felt like he was in the grand courtyard of a castle and not in a building in the middle Seoul. He looked around, feeling a little out of place with the people that milled around. Everyone, while not specifically highlighting their shows of wealth, had an air around them that he simply didn't possess. 

Nonetheless, he would get a story and go home; right after he ate and explored that is.

He decided to walk along the sides, admiring the lights and the paintings that hung on the wall. They had all been done with the utmost detail, the paintings almost as realistic as the people that were milling around in the room. 

Catching a glimpse of himself in one of the many glass panes, he stopped to admire himself or a moment. For an hour, he had been forced to sit in a chair while Kun, Taeyong and Ten had fixed his hair for him (well, Kun and Taeyong did, Ten just sat there and made very useless comments), but the result was well worth the hassle. Half of his hair was slicked back, the other half brushed and styled to perfection so it wasn’t in his eyes. The suit had also been adjusted with safety pins on the inside to make it a little more form fitting; all in all, he looked cute and that was all that mattered.

Yangyang made his way over to the buffet table, making sure he didn't bump into anyone and was consequently forced to make conversation. Most of the people in his vicinity looked at least a decade older than him and acted a millennia more ancient. 

Now, he thought, this was *his* version of an event. Rows upon rows of delicious looking food was in front of him, all of them perfectly laid out in arms reach for him to devour. He barely knew where to start!

After a few moments of pondering, he decided to pick up a cupcake - a red velvet one with icing that formed a neat swirl. As soon as he bit into it, he heard footsteps come towards the table and he moved a little, getting out of their way while happily eating his own snack.

Just as he was licking buttercream off his lips, he heard someone speak.

“Excuse me,” they said, voice deep yet soothing, “are you the reporter who did the story on the smiler?”

Nearly choking on a crumb, he cleared his throat and turned to look at them, seeing a man standing beside him. He nodded quickly, trying to swallow his mouthful as quickly as he could without looking like a moron. “Yeah, I am,” he replied, offering a small smile so he wouldn’t expose his red teeth.

The man looked over him briefly, eyes lingering over the rose on Yangyang’s sleeve before going back up to his face. His own outfit wasn’t extravagant, though it still exuded an aura of luxury. The red, satin waistcoat fitted snuggly against his torso, a small blue flower resting on the breast pocket. It almost looked like they had matched on purpose. “I really enjoyed your articles, the way you write them is refreshing. I’m Im Changkyun, by the way.”

Feeling a little shy at the compliment, he thanked him bashfully, though the name seemed to strike a bell. “Are you a model, by any chance? I’ve heard your name before.”

“I am!” Changkyun confirmed, clearly pleased to have been recognised, “I did some shoots for Vogue Korea last month, maybe you’ve seen me from there.” He picked up his own cupcake and peeled away the casing. “Are you free? I’d like to talk to you about what you’ve written.” 

Who was Yangyang to pass up the chance to stroke his own ego? Refraining from answering with a ‘hell yeah, I’m free’ he chose to nod instead, this time with a wider and happier grin.

They walked together, chatting casually about the modelling work Changkyun did before finding an empty table to sit at one of the many balconies that overlooked the quieter street below. “You seem really familiar with the smiler,” Changkyun started, not nearly as focused on looking at him as he was at looking at the darkening sky. “It almost seems like you know them. You’ve probably done more for the investigation than the police have.”

Realistically, he knew this was a joke, the tone lighthearted and a little teasing, but his heart still pounded loudly in his ears - his laugh a little more nervous than he intended it to be. 

"I guess I just have eagle eyes," Yangyang said, pretending to be unphased by the way that he was now looking at him, dark brown irises reflecting the light of the sunset with his own figure directly in the pupil. It made him feel like he was being assessed, the same feeling he’d had whenever he saw her watching him. 

“You must have.” He licked off some of the cream that had gotten on his finger, the eye contact not falling until Yangyang broke it himself, starting to feel the warmth of a blush creep up under his collar. Thank god the natural light was beginning to lessen. “You do have very pretty eyes. I would have thought you were a model too if I didn’t see your face on the website.”

The blush got darker, the urge to bury his face in his hands becoming harder to resist. He faintly heard Changkyun chuckle, muttering something similar to ‘cute’ under his breath.

“So uh, are you interested in looking at crime too?” Yangyang questioned once he could feel the heat dissipate a little from his skin. “You don’t really think of models being the kind of people interested in, like, burglary cases.”

He nodded, taking another bite of the chocolate cupcake he had. “The Smiler’s kind of hard not to know about, but I found them interesting enough to look into further. I don’t think that they’ll find them anytime soon considering how slippery they are. Even that hatch was clearly meant to be found, it was just that police didn’t find it.”

Yangyang had to agree; the engraving was too taunting for it to have been something unintentional.

“That was kind of just luck, I didn’t expect to find anything either, but it blew up and I guess that’s why I was asked to come.”

“I was surprised to spot you, actually. I didn’t think they would invite a reporter here, the CEO doesn’t usually let them in.”

“Didn’t think I’d get in either, honestly.”

“Well,” Changkyun spoke, playing with the empty cupcake wrapper and folding it into a small ball, “I’m glad you did. I would’ve been stuck talking to business men about something boring boring like stocks.”

“You don’t think that’s interesting?” he laughed, only to be silenced with a look directed towards him that suggested fondness, the sun now fully set with only streaks of light blue to insinuate its existence. “I should probably talk to one of those boring guys and get a story, otherwise my editor won’t be happy that I basically only came to eat a cupcake.”

Humming, Changkyun reached into his pocket and pulled out a slim, white card, placing it in Yangyang’s palm and closing his fingers around it, warmth bleeding into his skin. “I’m no business man, but if you ever want to hear some ‘industry secrets’, I’ll be happy to tell you whatever you need.”

His mouth opened, the words of gratitude dying in his throat as sudden shouting and yelling cut through the air. Sirens from inside the building began to blame, deafening him momentarily. The air turned colder, more frigid as Changkyun stood up. The chair scraped against the floor as he tugged lightly on Yangyang's sleeve to get him to follow. 

Barely able to spit out his question of 'what's going on?' he didn't get any response until they were both out of the building, narrowly avoiding the closing doors.

Changkyun stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder, though that wasn't what he was focused on. Instead it was on how his eyes widened, the brown reflecting neon pink and blue. 

"Oh my god," he spoke in awe, "Yangyang, look up!"

That's exactly what he did. 

There, across the 50 story tall building, was the same smile that haunted him. Two familiar x's crossed the eyes, the lights glitching momentarily before the whole display lit up in a purposely vivid colours of green and yellow. 

"Holy shit," he laughed, pulling out his phone and taking a picture, making sure to get a good angle of the garish exhibition. "Wait, do you think they were here just now?"

"Must have been," Changkyun replied, still looking up at the sabotaged LEDS. "Can't imagine how pissed Seungwoo will be."

And that was when the lights changed, shifting from the saturated tones to a blood red against ink black. 'Fucking robbed you, bitch! x‿x' it read, flashing across the screen and ballooning in size until all you could see was the childish smiley.

"Coming to this shit was worth it," Changkyun laughed, delighted with the outcome of the evening and Yangyang would have been lying if he didn't agree. It was entirely worth it.

* * *

“Louis,” he hissed, “Louis, you lazy bitch, move around.”

The cat didn’t even bat an eye, remaining in his position of being idle. But now, he had closed his eyes, ignoring Yangyang as his ears twitched.

He tutted, tugging a little on the leash, his efforts futile as Louis remained solidly in place. He was simply vibing and Yangyang could do nothing but pull his lips into a straight line. 

At least the day was warm, he mused, the sun having come out with a lot more intensity than usual. The park had seemed like the best option to walk around in and to potentially get Louis to be a little more active, but the feline had other plans, it seemed.

“Hey,” he tried again, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a toy mouse, “go get this. I’ll give you a treat if you do.” That was a blatant lie but he was desperate.

Squatting down, he let go of the leash and waved the mouse around, finally getting Louis’ attention. He stood up, eyes dilating as he followed the movement and raced after the toy once he threw it. Louis pounced on it, rolling around in the grass and biting aggressively on the poor stuffed blob; there was definitely going to be some holes in it after that.

“Finally.” As long as he was moving around, Yangyang wasn’t bothered by what he was doing. Shifting to sit on a bench instead, he kept an eye on him, watching as he jumped and started to run in circles to chase his tail.

He took out his phone, intending on recording some videos of him messing around, when he noticed someone in a large red coat begin to come closer. At first he thought nothing of it - it was a park, who cared? But it was when he saw them sit down and pick up the toy, enticing his silly cat over with it and then scratching him under his chin, that he decided to walk over and make sure there was no funny business going on. The last thing he needed was for Louis to be snatched from under his nose.

“You’re the prettiest cat I’ve ever seen,” he heard an oddly recognisable voice coo, “what’s your name?” There was a pause where his collar was flipped. “Louis? That’s random, but I can see how you’re a Louis.”

As he came closer, he couldn't bring himself to be surprised that it was her - the woman of the hour. “Are you stalking me?” He asked, half joking and half serious.

She looked up, a vague glimmer of amusement in her countenance. “You’re cute, now why would I do that?”

“You’re everywhere I am,” he responded, watching closely as she stroked Louis’ ear, hearing him purr. Yangyang deadpanned. Of course Louis would be more than happy to be petted by a wanted criminal.

“Baby, you’re just wherever I am. Are you sure you’re not stalking me instead?” Louis leant further into her touch, rubbing his cheek against her hand before Yangyang picked him up, holding him like a baby in his arms and almost shielding him. “What? You have a nice cat, he’s very friendly.”

‘Yeah, I bet,’ he wanted to retort, feeling Louis’ tail wag against his chest. “How are you just walking around?”

At this, she tilted her head, almost looking like a confused pet herself. “Am I not supposed to be?” 

He didn't bother replying, knowing that he would only be baiting himself out. 

Unluckily for him, she didn’t need one and instead she was reaching out to take his hand, tugging him gently and making him stumble forwards. “Forget that, come with me.”

“What are you doing?”

“We’re going somewhere,” came her bland reply. “You’ll see in a bit. That is, unless you want to leave.”

Her grip was loose yet firm, no other intention within the touch other than to guide him somewhere. It would have been easy to jerk himself away from her, but his curiosity was simultaneously his best and worst quality. She hadn’t hurt him before, he rationalised, so why would she now?

“No,” he said, holding Louis a little tighter to his chest, “I’ll come.”

She walked him through the park and past the shrubbery, the hustle and bustle of the other people becoming gradually quieter until only the rustling of leaves and their own footsteps was audible. Eventually they reappeared at a dirt road, the sides of the road dwarfed completely by the surrounding hedges. Her hand slipped from his, instead reaching into her coat pocket and bringing out a blindfold. “Wear this.”

“Why?”

“So I know you won’t remember how I took you to our destination.” He was clearly hesitant and she picked up on this. “I won’t do anything to you, I told you, I don’t hurt or kill people without a reason.”

“You still make me feel like you have a reason,” he muttered, not intending for her to hear, though judging from her laughter - she’d heard just fine. “Are we going in a car?”

“I thought Louis was supposed to be the curious one.” She remarked, waving at the cat that was still in his arms; Louis looked perfectly content being held like that. “He’s like a little baby, I’m tempted to steal him.”

Yangyang snorted himself, rolling his eyes. “You don’t even need to try, he would probably go with you regardless. He likes everyone but me.”

“Seems very in line with siamese cat behaviour.” The blindfold was brought to his attention, dark fabric pooling in the palm of her hand. “Do you want me to put it on you?”

He settled for a quick nod. 

She moved behind him, the blindfold made of a soft, silk-like material. It was barely any weight on his skin, though it was completely opaque and as soon as it was over his eyes, his entire worldview darkened. All he had to go on was the animal in his arms and the fleeting brushing of her fingers. They ran across his cheeks, his hair moved out of the way so it would sit flush on his nose. Hairs on the back of his neck rose at the phantom graze, her voice making him swallow as he realised just how close she was. 

Each syllable was clear, though spoken in a normal, conversational tone. A shiver ran down his spine. “Can you see anything?”

“No.” Thankfully, his words didn’t crack or slur, though he could hear the wobble near the end. “I can’t see.”

“Don’t worry,” she reassured, sounding as cheery as always, her hand moving back to his - the nerves under his skin tingling faintly at the contact. “I’ll be your eyes until you can take them off.”

And somehow, the words were reassuring.

Within a few minutes, he was helped into the passenger seat of a car, the door shutting as she got into the driver’s side. The engine’s hum was different from the last time around, this time a little louder, grittier. “Is this a different car?”

“Yeah.”

Darkness was his only view for almost ten minutes, his ears picking up every sound that she and Louis were making. Whether it was the gears being shifted or Louis mewling, everything was loud and surprisingly annoying. 

“You can take the blindfold off.” Quickly doing just that, the first thing he saw was open country roads that were strikingly similar to what he’d seen before, though he was unable to recognise the area once again. Well, it did make sense for her to know routes that normal people didn’t travel along. 

He handed the blindfold to Louis, letting him mess with it as he batted at it between his paws. “Can I ask you some questions?”

“Of course you can, baby.”

Turning a blind eye to the pet name and how it was making his pulse become louder in his ears, he pondered over what he had desperately wanted to know. 

Her fingers drummed on the steering wheel, his eyes fixated on the movement before he spotted his phone on the dashboard beside her hand - his hands instinctively going to pat at his sides and finding the pocket empty. He hadn’t even felt her take it.

“How did yo-”

“It was in your back pocket. I’ll give it back when we finish, it’s just to make sure you’re not recording anything.” 

Yangyang chewed on the inside of his cheek, turning to look at her upon deciding it wasn’t worth it to argue; he wasn’t going to win so why bother? “Why did you target Jeong Seungwoo?”

A beat of silence passed by, the quiet filled only by Louis’ small squeaks as he wrestled with the fabric. “It was more so because I felt like it than any other reason. Plus he’s a fucking weirdo, a rich freak. I knew it would piss him off to be stolen from when he was hosting his boring nerd convention.” 

There had been some whispers of the CEO being especially heavy handed when talking to women, both of his wives having divorced him and a constant stream of new, and often much younger, women at his side thereafter. 

“You should have seen his face when I took over the display, it was so funny. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”

He found himself smiling too, her grin infectious as she recounted the night. “There was no other reason?” 

“No. Have you never wanted to rob someone for the sake of robbing them?” He shook his head. “Hmph, goody two shoes.”

Mouthing a soft ‘wow’ to himself, he didn’t know whether he found her reply funny or absurd (truthfully, it was both). 

The road curved and bended, the fields once again growing more expansive and overtaking the horizon. Lush green grass surrounded them on all sides, some blades shimmering an emerald hue. It really was a star contrast to the last time he was in a car with her. "So, are you dating now?"

"Huh?"

"The guy you were with the entire time."

Oh. Ohhh.

The sudden rush of blood to his face almost made him feel dizzy, especially when coupled with the urgent shaking of his head. "No!" He said a little too forcefully for it to be casual. "I just met him like two da- how do you know that?" 

"I saw you."

"I didn't see you?"

"That was the point, angel. I wouldn't be very successful if people saw me." She turned another corner. "Changkyun's nice, I've spoken to him before."

Their speed was steadily increasing, the world blurring between the lines as he tried to understand her. Nothing she did ever seemed to make sense to him. "Do you work alone?"

It was a random question and he knew he'd caught her a little off guard with that, though she nodded anyway - her foot still on the accelerator. "I do everything alone unless I need specific work done. I don't feel a need to have other people involved."

"Then-" he started, air whistling as he sucked in a breath through gritted teeth. "Why did you tell me?"

"Because I could. Who would you tell?" She said with complete confidence, unwavering in her belief. "You can't pin anything to me. I chose to let you know."

Yangyang couldn't help but be astounded by her ability to believe in her own words, to be so sure of herself and her ability of being in control that she could throw caution to the wind and come out unscathed, unbothered. He admired that greatly. 

He chose to remain quiet, shifting the now sleepy Louis to rest properly in his lap and gazing out of the window.

Yet, even as the scenery shifted and warped, turning into plains of land he had never explored, all he could think about was the person right next to him. 

Wistful thoughts of trying to figure her out were entertained in his lonesome, the task daunting and scary to think of doing. Yet he was nothing if not persistent. Perhaps if he pushed, he could reach something eventually. 

"What do you think of graffiti?"

Dragged out of his trance, he hummed in acknowledgment. "Uh, I don't have, like, any opinion on it."

"Ah okay. How do you feel about graffiting a mural? If it makes a difference, it's a mural dedicated to a bastard I don't like."

"Huh? You're taking me t-" Yangyang cut himself off, biting lightly on his tongue.

"Yeah."

"What if I don't want to?" 

He deserved the weird look he got from her. "Then... Don't?" She replied, shaking her head dismissively a moment after. "If you're worried about getting caught, don't be. If I get caught for vandalism and not burglary, I might as well quit."

For a criminal, she could be very passive.

Nonetheless, he had a few minutes to think over her offer while they sped down the road before finally pulling up near a stop sign, the car still running as she got out.

He remained in his seat though he twisted around to see what she was doing when the boot opened up. The bright red coat was shrugged off and replaced with a black jacket, gloves pulled onto her hands with a *snap* around the wrists. 

"You wanna join?"

"...What if there's cameras?"

"There aren't. I disabled them before coming." She held up another jacket in one hand and a spray can in the other. "It's harmless, come on."

'Harmless?' Yangyang nearly scoffed, though the temptation was eating away at him. It wouldn't hurt. He didn't even have to do anything either, standing there and watching was perfectly fine. 

Though for him, temptation always won.

“Where can I put Louis?”

A pleased smile graced her lips, the jacket draped across her arm as she pointed to the backseat. “There. I’ll put the heating on so he won’t get cold.”

Leaning over, Yangyang placed the ball of fur in the seat and got out himself, pulling on the jacket she gave him. A mask was then given to him, one with weird, spiralling designs on it that didn’t blend in at all. 

“It fucks up facial recognition, just in case,” she explained, the mask put on his face immediately. “Let’s go. Grab whatever colour you want.” 

He rather fancied the glowing red, the neon standing out to him amongst the myriad of other colours that were in the boot of the car. Cool metal contrasted the warmth of his palm, the weight of it making him realise just what he was doing - following behind someone to vandalise a piece of artwork they had commissioned. Somehow, he wasn’t nearly as afraid of doing this as he would have been 6 months ago.

“It’s around here.” They walked down the road, the car still in view if you were specifically looking for it. Turning the corner, she stopped just near a wall that towered over them. “There.”

The art itself was beautiful, the commission done to the best of the creators abilities. The city skyline was printed onto the stone, each tile made with a purpose to fill a bigger narrative. What need was there to defile something so stunning?

“You always have some sort of reason, what’s the one for this?”

“You like to ask questions, don’t you?”

“I am, like, a reporter, you know.”

Her eyes rolled, a hand moving to his back to push him forward towards the artwork. “Funny. My reason this time is because he’s an asshole. He fucked over 200 people who were working for him by suddenly firing them with no reason given. Most of them were struggling students and single parents.” 

He had to stop his mouth from falling open, astounded at how awful people could be. “That’s so fucking evil.”

The cap of the can was popped off, thrown into the bin next to them before she started to spray over the writing with thick blue paint. The words were smothered and hidden, childish daubings of stick men with guns replacing them. Everything was overtaken, colours dying under the layers of blue and yellow that she was spraying onto them. 

The slight opposition he had to defacing it was completely gone by now,

His fingers flexed before he decided to go for it, taking off the lid too and drawing a dick across however far he could reach, going up to his tiptoes to reach the top. Giggles filled the air as she drew another one beside his, a middle finger following it and obscene curses written in plain sight. “That’s it!” she cheered, the thrill of it growing in accordance to her praise (what a curious thing, he mused for a moment, to be pleased by the compliments of an outlaw).

Yangayng didn’t stop, wanting to make the mural his own. Soon enough, every inch was covered with their own work - inkings of rebellion and hatred muting the works of a faker.

“One second, I’ll be right back.”

She disappeared back to the car, returning a few moments later with a sledge hammer that he’d somehow failed to notice.

“Fucking hell,” he uttered, “you go all out.”

“I wouldn’t be the Smiler if I didn’t.”

The sledge hammer smashed against the wall, the noise so loud and jarring that it made him wince. Small pieces flew off, scattering in multiple directions as she reared up for another hit - the spiderweb cracks weaving throughout the entire mural. For a moment, it was almost poetic, anger laced between the bits that were hanging on by a thread. Though anger grew, expanding and growing in the underbelly before the hammer connected with the wall again, and again, and again.

Yangyang only watched, a mixture of admiration and wonder swirling in his stomach. It was stupefying just how much he could gather about her with each cold and calculated strike, never hitting in the same place twice. The mural crumbled like dust, the wall supporting it turning into a target before she took one last swing and knocked it with all her might - the foundation shaking and jolting before coming to a stand still.

It was equally as stupefying to watch her return to normal, the hammer becoming little more than a toy as she swung it at her side absentmindedly. “I think we fucked it up pretty decently.”

“Yeah, I’d say so,” he responded, puffing out his cheeks and closing an eye to inspect it further. “I think it needs something else though. You should do your logo over it.”

“Good idea!” The yellow can at his feet was grabbed, the hiss of the nozzle filling the air as she drew the taunting amber grin onto the ruins. “Now that looks better.”

He found her smile to be blinding as she pulled the mask under her chin, admiring the wreckage that they’d created. Oddly, he found pride and something else swelling in his chest. Maybe it was happiness, or adrenaline, or the one thing that his mind had decided to whisper and he’d refused to acknowledge.

Or perhaps it was the mural dust getting to him: as if he knew the difference anyway.

* * *

Another dead end. 

Yangyang was at the withering end of his patience by now. For hours now he had been trawling through different social media websites in hopes of finding something, anything, about her. There was no profiles to be uncovered, nor was there even a single picture of her online that he could source. It was a little scary just how well she had managed to hide her digital footprint. 

He let out a humbled and defeated sigh, closing the laptop and shoving it back into its usual place. As much as he hated admitting that he’d been bested, he couldn’t win this fight. As a result, he reached towards the TV remote, about to turn onto netflix and binge something when he heard very faint tapping. 

At first, he paid it no mind, thinking it was just noise from the neighbouring flat, but when it persisted, gradually getting louder and louder, he had no choice but to get up and look around. Louis was fast asleep under the coffee table so it couldn’t be him either.

Making his way around the flat, he looked at the clocks and the windows, checking each room before making his way into his bedroom: bingo. The noise was incessant, becoming louder and a little more frantic. The rational part of him was telling him that it was probably a pigeon that decided to chill on his window sill, but Yangyang only grew more and more paranoid as he approached it slowly. He grabbed a hanger from the floor, picking it up and holding it like a weapon as he approached the curtains that covered his window, the noise the loudest here than anywhere else.

‘Just open it,’ he said, inhaling deeply as he held onto the curtain, steeling himself. ‘3...2...1!’

The curtain was yanked aside, his brain not registering what he was seeing for a moment as he stared into darkness. Yet when darkness stared back at him, half of its face obscured by a mask, his first instinct was to shriek. And very loudly at that.

Stumbling backwards, the hanger smacked against the glass with a pitifully quiet ‘thud’, his heart in his ears as he saw them flinch a little. However, the terror wore off quickly when they pulled down the mask and gave him a look that plainly said ‘bro, are you okay?’. Clearly, the answer was no.

“What the fuck,” Yangyang muttered, pushing the window open. “Why the hell are you outside of my window? How do you even know my address?”

“It was on the back of your phone case on your ID,” she replied as casually as could be. “The climb up here was annoying though.”

Yangyang was speechless, not knowing what to respond with. “You couldn’t have told me?”

“I did, I told you like 5 hours ago on email. I thought you would’ve seen it by now.”

Okay, that was his own fault. He’d accidentally logged out of his account a day ago and not bothered to log back in. “Are we in, like, the 1700’s?”

“Baby, I don’t have your number to text you with.”

Maybe shutting his mouth and letting her in would be the best course of action before he embarrassed himself anymore.

Opening up the window so she could get in, he watched her climb effortlessly into the bedroom. “Why not just use the front door?”

“This was faster.”

“You’re fucking crazy.”

She laughed, brushing off her clothes and smoothing out the nonexistent wrinkles. “You just noticed?”

The window was shut quickly, the cold air that followed behind her making the hair on his arms stand on end. “You didn’t say why you were here.”

“To pet Louis.”

Her face was completely blank, nothing giving away a clue to whether or not she was simply fucking with him or if she was being serious. Either of the options could have been a valid option knowing her. However, a smile broke the seriousness and she shook her head. “I’m just joking. I did partially come for Louis, but I have a story you might be interested in. You’ve been writing about goats for long enough now.”

“You actually read them?”

Her smile was genuine. “Mhm. I like reading them. I did that quiz too and got garlic noodles.”

“Right,” Yangyang said, dragging the last syllable a little as he ushered her into the living room. “I would’ve thought you’d get something like bibim-naengmyeon.”

“Any reason you think that?” She sat down on the sofa and saw Louis under the table, her pupils turning to little love hearts instead. “Do you have a laptop or anything I can borrow?”

Handing it over after unlocking it, he chose to not tell her the reason. How embarrassing would it be for him to say to her face that the reason he thought he was cold, spicy noodles was because of how he had gotten to know her over their encounters. The limited choices of the quiz could only say so much, but he knew that she was an esnaring mix of mouth numbing spice, yet frigid enough to make his heart stutter and turn to ice. It was a confusing mix surely not meant for everyone to enjoy, though Yangyang liked to think he had a good tolerance for the two opposites.

A USB was put in, multiple files opening as she flew through them. “They’ll be removed entirely from your hard drive after a week and you can’t take screenshots of them, so I’d recommend writing the article before next Tuesday.” 

He moved closer, unable to make out what she was showing until she turned the screen towards him. His eyes flickered from her face to the display, still not quite understanding what he was supposed to be looking at. Images of detailed floor plans were on screen, followed by images of different paintings underneath and arrows pointing to the spots. “Uh… what am I looking at?”

“The passageways in Kim Yeojung’s house. The paintings are the stolen ones he’s been hoarding and is planning to sell on the black market. I’m going to get them from him.” 

It was as though every time he thought she couldn’t do something crazier than last time, she outdid herself in riskier and more incomprehensible ways. Now, Yangyang wasn’t the most passive person either, with some of his college shenanigans speaking enough for how truly obnoxious he could be, though he found her to be on another level. “How did you even find this out?”

“Because I’m sexy.”

“You’re not wrong,” he almost said, biting back the sentence at the last moment. “Why would you risk your life to do that?”

A shrug was the measly answer.

“I swear you have like, some kind of death wish.”

“Not yet. I’m just bored most of the time, honestly. And besides, he doesn’t deserve those paintings. I thought art theft would be a nice change of pace.” The files flickered, changing and swapping before she settled on showing him close ups of the paintings. “Which ones are the ugliest to you?”

A weird question, he thought, though happy to look at them nonetheless. Each of them were weird in their own right, with many of them things he’d never even seen before. Eventually, he picked out two that looked the worst to him, both of them examples of ‘modern’ art with no discernible shapes in them. They called it abstract while to him it was simply ugly. “These.”

She nodded, highlighting them and deleting the others. It was while she was doing this that he heard a low grumble, at first thinking it was from Louis before he saw her sneak a quick glance at him to see if he’d noticed; he had.

“Are you hungry?”

She avoided eye contact. “...Maybe. Do you have any sugary things I could have?”

“I think so.” He got up, accidentally knocking the table and startling Louis awake, the cat hissing as he banged his head on the underside of it. “Louis, hey-”

Louis slithered out from his resting place, jumping onto the sofa and slinking towards the laptop like a drunkard as she typed on it before putting his paws on the keyboard, his head pressed flat against them and stopping her from typing.

Affection was clear in her gaze, fingers running through his fur as she gently nursed the top of his head. “Silly cat,” she muttered, gently moving him so he wasn’t inhibiting her movements, “I’m guessing that means he likes me.”

“More than me, that’s for sure.” Yangyang left the room to go to the kitchen, only now noticing how he had been smiling the entire time, the racing of his pulse more noticeable now that he wasn’t preoccupied. ‘Sugar, sugar, something with sugar,’ he reminded himself, something that would stop him from thinking about her for even a moment. 

Opening up the fridge, he found the little cake pops he had made while he was bored and decided they were good enough. The tray was taken and placed in front of her, his seat taken again (though he swore that she had shuffled a little closer when he did).

“What are you gonna do with the paintings?”

“We’re gonna burn them.”

Yangyang blanked. “We?”

“Me. You’ll just be there for the laughs.”

The price of the paintings flashed on screen and he gasped. He could hardly count the amount of zeros that were on screen under their pictures. “You’re going to burn something worth that much?!”

“Why not? It’s just a painting. Does it matter if it’s expensive?” The relaxed nature of her voice made him rethink. Why did it matter? “He stole the paintings from people who owned them. I’m just doing it back to spite him. The people who made them are long dead, he shouldn’t have their money.”

“Ah,” he said, taking a cake pop for himself and chewing on it, “so when do you plan on doing that.”

The room went dead silent for the seconds before she spoke, the laptop handed back to him so she could pet Louis. “Today at 12. He has an important meeting at half 11.”

“You know,” Yangyang started, laughing a little incredulously, “you have so much trust in me not just like going to the police and telling them everything. I seriously don’t get it, why me?”

Her eyes had always seemed like the abyss, the colour of them swirling with the answers to questions he couldn’t fathom. Always, she had looked the part of an angel, so out of reach and carrying grave responsibility, but now he realised that he should have been likening her to a siren instead; beautiful but ultimately harbouring danger with every serene smile and flash of her glinting teeth. “I told you before; you won’t do it. And it was just by chance that you were there so I decided to help you. Meeting you was one of the things I didn’t account for or preplan”

She picked up another cake pop, putting it in her mouth when Louis had turned away. 

Puffing out his cheeks, he stole another glance at the laptop, mulling over his choices. “What if the police don’t say anything? I can’t write an article on it if they don’t.”

Chewing on the treat, she pulled the stick out of her mouth and used it as an extension of her hand. “They will. It’s a high profile man who’s stolen famous paintings for his own benefit. They can’t keep it underground without it leaking somehow.”

The options narrowed, leaving one left. “I don’t know if I want to burn them, but I’ll go with you.”

“Knew you would. I’ll email you the details, okay?” She stood up, about to take a step into the hallway when Yangyang giggled.

“You can use the front door, you know.”

The speed in which her demeanor turned from cool to bashful made him giggle a little more, getting up also to see her out. “Wait, can I ask you one more question?”

“Yes?”

“What’s your name? You never said.” 

Her smile changed from mildly embarrassed to almost devilish, the siren flashing its face, her hand moving in a wave before she began to walk out of the door.

Yangyang followed quickly, holding open the door. “You’re not going to tell me?”

“That’s for me to know, doll, and for you to find out when I want you to.”

She left without a trace, the door shut after he could no longer hear any footsteps. “God.” A heavy sigh left him as Louis circled around his legs, headbutting him until he was picked up. “I don’t understand her one bit, but I still like her.”

Louis stared at him, the ring of blue around his pupils becoming more visible.

“Not like that.”

Louis meowed, the sound more than a little judgemental.

“Shut up. Okay, it is kind of like that, but it’s not like it’s gonna go anywhere.”

Louis meowed again.

“I hate you.”

* * *

‘ **New email from 264537@empty.com** :

I’m outside the building. Wear a black jacket and pet Louis for me before you leave.’

He did as she asked, shrugging on a dark jacket he had and feeding Louis a treat before locking the flat door and leaving. A beanie had also been pulled over his hair for the sole reason that it made him feel better that no one could see his freshly dyed brown locks.

Walking outside, he heard the car before he actually saw it. A low song was playing, the bass making the ground rumble under his feet as he walked closer, squinting a little to see where it was before he saw her waving next to a flashy SUV that looked like it was worth more than his home. Surprise wasn’t an emotion he felt anymore.

Yangyang hurried over, getting inside the car and instantly feeling the warmth of the heating - a nice contrast to the chilly breeze outside. “You have so many cars,” he remarked, “aren’t you scared that they’ll, like, figure you out?”

At this, she pointed towards the steering wheel, a small engraving on it that simply said ‘Kim YJ.’ “They’re not my cars. I get rid of them after I use them so they can’t be traced to me.”

"How do you have his car?"

"I've stolen from him before. It's how I found out about the paintings."

Yangyang shook his head. “I should stop asking you shit, you always have it covered."

"I don't mind," she said plainly, pulling out of the car park and onto the road, "it's nice to have you to make conversation with. I enjoy it a lot actually."

Yangyang swallowed, nodding slowly as he turned to look out of the window - watching her reflection in the glass. It was a little pathetic just how much he let her affect him despite knowing there was no chance of anything ever happening. She'd even said it herself, she chose him because he was there; he was rummaging for clues in a space that had been meticulously cleaned.

Heavier music played in the confines of the four walls, the song switching to something different. Fitting, Yangyang thought. 

"Are you german?" 

"H- No... But I lived in Germany for a long time. How did you know?"

"When you speak english, I can hear the accent, but you must be a one direction fan, right?"

His eyebrows furrowed together. "Are you asking because of Louis?"

"What if I was?"

He found himself grinning. "I'm not. Me and my friends used to call him Ludi but the syllables, they, like, kinda slurred together over time." He played with the seatbelt. "But I like some of their songs, yeah."

“Right, you seem like a Justin Beiber person to me.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“No comment.”

The drive was shorter than the last one as they came to a halt near a junction, her seatbelt pulled off and the volume of the music was lowered.

“When I come back out, open the boot for me.” The car door opened with a click, cold air clashing with the heating. “Just press this button and it’ll open.”

“You’re going by yourself?” It seemed insane to consider how she would carry two large paintings by herself while dodging security.

Though, clearly she didn’t care about insanity or its forthcomings. “I didn’t strike you as the heist type, so yeah, just me.” 

Her wave could be seen through the glass before a ski mask was pulled on, smothering her features completely as she blended into the night - leaving Yangyang to switch the radio station at his whim and play with the interactive screen on the dashboard.

Time ticked by without him noticing, in the middle of playing chess with an AI (and which he was somehow winning? God knew how, he didn’t know the first damn thing about playing chess) when he looked outside again. Very faintly, he could make out someone running towards the car, his heart jumping into his throat before he saw the mask on their face. Slamming the button out of instinct, he heard her just moments before she reached home base, the rustling and creaking of age old paintings being shoved into the back the only thing being communicated; she’d done it, it said, and within the hour too. 46 minutes and 52 seconds to be exact.

Within seconds, the driver door was opening and she was slamming it shut again, the engine roaring as the tyres screeched against the asphalt. No doubt there would be tracks left behind, though it barely mattered if they could identify them; the vehicle would be long gone and scrapped.

The mask was shoved into one of her coat pockets, exhilarated laughter coming from her as they sped down the roads into obscurity. “Holy shit,” she finally said, adrenaline clearly making her a little giddy, “that was the best one yet.”

Yangyang was wide eyed, fascinated. “What did you do? I can’t believe you actually did it!”

“Well,” she started, pausing a little to add to the dramatics, “when I first got in, the alarm system was down because H.one did it like 10 minutes before I came, so it was pretty easy to get into the basement, but there was a security guard there - the bastard’s so extra - and I had to distract him by messing with one of the bedrooms upstairs.”

Yangyang gawked at her. “How did you keep calm?”

“Because I always come out on top,” she grinned, “it wasn’t that bad, but the paintings were heavy as fuck honestly. I got out just as the guy came back and called security. They’re probably looking around in the house.”

He leant back against the seat, slowly coming to terms with the fact that he was an accomplice to art theft and grand theft auto. Though, that wasn’t what was at the forefront of his mind. “Who’s H.one?”

“The guy I ask to do security work for me sometimes.” She snuck a glance at his face. “He’s got a boyfriend before you ask.”

Damn, maybe he really was more transparent than he thought he was.

Soft music played, the song he’d put on having switched into something more gentle and calming - the exact opposite of the situation at hand. It continued to play the entire way through, the whooshing of the air outside being the only contrast to it until she spoke again.

“Were you playing chess?”

“...What if I was?” he parroted.

“Then congratulations because you were winning. You only needed three more moves and you would have been the winner.”

He pulled his beanie down, trying to hide a little more of his face, though he was still able to hear her light huff of amusement.

The drive to the open fields took only another ten minutes at a disorienting speed, the car parked on the outskirts of an empty grassland before being stopped.

“You coming?”

“Yeah.”

The boot was opened again, the paintings held under her arm while he took the container of gasoline, feeling the weight of it as they made their way to the middle of the area. She threw them down, not caring at all about how they dropped and the expensive damage that was being done to them - they’d be worth nothing in a few minutes.

He pulled his jacket tighter against him, staying closely at her side as she took the container from him, his fingers buzzing at the brief and barely there contact. 

“Do you ever feel bad for sending the police on a goose chase?” Yangyang asked, moving away a little as oil splattered over the paintings, coating them in the thick and viscous liquid. “You would make a really good private eye.”

“I dropped out,” she said, moving to the side and coating every inch of the frames, “I was studying to be a detective but I couldn’t stand the attitudes of the people there. Some of them were nice, but it was always the richer, upper class that liked to think they were better than everyone else. They were there to exercise power, not because they cared.” He nodded in understanding. “Why did you want to become a journalist?”

A lighter was pulled out from her pocket, the flame waving in the breeze as she waited for his reply. 

“Because I like to know things,” he spoke in a low voice, “I don’t know what it is, but it’s like, I just have to know everything I can. I want to be the first one to find things out.” There was a moment of silence. “That’s why I want a promotion so badly, my editor keeps saying that with the next big story I’ll get it, but I never do. All I want is to have more freedom to write about things and to show them to people without it being censored.”

She knelt down, placing the spark against the slick works of art and stepping back - Yangyang following.

“I hope you get your promotion soon.”

The flames crackled, heat licking at the toes of his shoes as he watched them gain momentum, the roaring beginning to match the tempo of the blood in his ears. Hues of gold, vermilion and true orange lit up her face, dancing shadows cast over every small contour and only furthering the image of the siren. 

A small burner phone was pulled out of her trouser pocket. "Hello? Yes, I'd like to report a fire burning off of the 473 exit-" His ears perked up at the panicked young woman act she had put on, the ploy completely flawless. "I'm not quite sure what caused it, I'm sorry, but it keeps getting bigger! Please send someone down soon."

It was fascinating listening to her. How many times had she lied to him like that, he wondered? How often did she say one thing to his face and mean something completely different? Did she even care about h- 

Yangyang sighed, his breath joining the black torrents of smoke that blended into the night sky. The call was ended with a single press of a button before the device was tossed into the inferno, melting right before their eyes. 

His eyes were glued to the phone, watching the plastic ooze off of the cheap frame and glue itself to the blazing canvasses of the paintings.

Fingers curled around his shoulder, the warmth of her form threatening to reduce him to a puddle too. "Let's go, Yang-ah," she said, barely audible over the fire. "They'll be here soon."

Nodding slowly, he flexed his own fingers, trying to build up the courage to reach out and hold her hand in his. Only, his opportunity slipped from his grasp as she began to walk, her hands in her pockets once again.

* * *

If there was one thing Yangyang hated about his job, it was the fact that he had to actually go into the office and have his editor more often than not tear him a new one over what he’d written. The man acted like it was *his* fault that he was handed the barest minimum to work with. What was Yangyang supposed to do if he was given an article about animals that shit out coffee beans? 

He sighed, shuffling into the office and avoiding eye contact with everyone that was there. The last thing he needed was to get into an argument with one of them because they thought he’d looked at them wrong. 

Sitting down, he picked a seat where no one could see him unless they were specifically straining their neck around a corner and went on his phone. There wasn’t much new to be looking at, save from the group chat that was discussing how to most effectively inflict the most pain with a single bite. 

Donghyuck: dude 🤣🤣

Donghyuck: if you bite under someone’s armpits then it hurts the most

Kunhang: does it???

Kun: …. Kunhang don’t come near me i’m not going to bite you 😒

Renjun: jesus christ

Renjun: the place that would hurt the most is your collarbones

Ten: now how do you know that?

Jungwoo: ㅋㅋㅋ

Jungwoo: we all know why he knows that

Renjun: what’s wrong with all of you??? 🤮

Taeyong: actually, it hurts most on the ass

Yuta: yeah. LOL between the …

Mark: bro.

**Yuta has been removed from ‘slut cafe yuno will take ur order nya’ ******

Taeil: between the cheeks

**Taeil has been removed from ‘slut cafe yuno will take ur order nya’**

Yangyang decided not to pay attention to it any further, though his timing was perfect because as soon as he tucked his phone away, he heard his name being called. 

His editor was a middle aged man, nearly balding with a few strands of hair that he jelled over his shiny head and combed meticulously throughout the day. A black suit adorned his figure, though he was mostly swallowed up by the office chair that he was sat in (he was rather… portly after all). Yangyang didn’t bother looking at his new shiny name tag that sat boastfully on the desk.

“Good morning, Yangyang,” he greeted as Yangyang sat down. “First of all, I wanted to congratulate you on all your recent articles. The one about Kim Yeojung did very well, especially the small detail of the phone in the fire. The police are thinking that this was linked to the Smiler as well.”

“Oh,” Yangyang said, playing with the arm of the chair, “I didn’t know that. There’s not much to connect them though.”

“I suppose.” There was sounds of papers rustling. “I know you’re going to ask about the promotion, but we’re not sure if you should get that yet. Instead, we’re giving you a ₩5000 pay rise,” he said, looking awfully pleased with himself. “We need another good record breaking article before we get that.”

Yangyang stared at him, burning holes into his face. “Are you serious?” He blurted out ludicrously, “I’ve done like 5 different articles on 5 different things and they’ve brought in the most traction the site has seen for years. I don’t care about the pay rise, I want the promotion. I don’t know what you want me to write to give me it.”

His editor shrugged in a way that infuriated him, making him want to reach over and grab him by the collar (but he didn’t, maybe if he had ‘the smiler’s’ courage then he would’ve). “If you’re not happy, you can leave and join another company.”

Yangyang gritted his teeth, holding in the scathing remarks that were burning the back of his throat. “You have to be joking.” 

“I'm not. If that's all you wanted to talk about, you can go now.”

Not bothering to say goodbye, he nearly kicked the chair under the table before walking out, making sure to leave the door ajar in a way that he knew his editor despised; the bastard deserved it. His mood, once a little hopeful, had been crushed completely, stamped under the soles of the perfectly polished black shoes of the smug man behind the wooden desk. “Stupid fucker,” he grumbling, cursing under his breath in mandarin, “can’t wait till I take his stupid bastard job.”

He left the building without a word, barely biting back the urge to spit on the floor in front of it and instead thinking that the more sensible option would be to go and cool off somewhere else. Thankfully, the area around the office had many different cafes and places for him to grab something in; now that he thought of it, he fancied some boba.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he decided to wallow a little in his anger and self pity - kicking rocks along the streets and seeing how far he could launch them. Everything seemed a little more bitter now, the scuffs on his shoe more visible as well as the background noise from everyday life becoming more intense. 

Yangyang groaned, shaking his head a little and running a hand through his hair, the walk helping him to cool off a little.

Yet, he noticed something. As he made his way down the road, he saw someone sitting at a table outside of a quaint (and rather expensive) cafe. A book was held in their hands, partially covering their face before he caught a glimpse of them. 

Was he even surprised that it was her?

“I swear you’re stalking me.” He approached the table, sitting down opposite her as she put down the book in her hands flat on the table. “Did you, like, put a tracker on my phone or what?”

“Offended you would even think that,” she cut back, no edge to her tone. “I was here by coincidence actually, nothing to do with you. But I’m not complaining if I can see your pretty face.”

Yangyang groaned at the greasy flirting, shoving her book and making her laugh. “Are you just looking at the scenery?”

She shrugged. “Guess you could say that, I was just doing something. Now, what about you? You weren’t looking very smiley when you were walking down.”

“You saw me?”

“Duh.”

Right, ‘duh’.

“Nothing, it’s just” -he sighed, leaning back against the chair- “my editor is such an asshole.”

“Oh? Need me to beat him up?”

He wasn’t very sure if she was joking or not, so he shook his head. “No, but maybe later. He just called me in to tell me that I’m just getting a pay rise and not the damn promotion like I wanted.”

She hummed, playing with a page on the book though keeping her gaze on him. “Is there a reason they don’t want you to give you one? What position would you move up to?”

“The same as him. I wouldn’t be under his, uh- like control?” Yangyang said, struggling to try and phrase what he meant, “maybe that’s why. But what’s the point in trying to do that? It's not like he gets any credit for them.”

“Hm, yeah. I think you should write about sheep this time, that’ll give you the CEO position.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled, “you’re not funny.”

“I’m plenty funny, Yang-ah,” she replied, reaching out and squeezing his arm affectionately, “come, do you want anything?” Noticing his reservations, she picked up her book and tugged on his hand, urging him out of his seat. “My treat, or consolation: whichever you want to see it as.”

“Well,” he said, dragging out the last syllable, not wanting to let go just yet, “I was craving boba.”

“Good choice, I haven’t had boba in a while either.”

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. “One sec.” The book was taken from her, held by him instead so her other hand was free, a pleased smile lighting up his visage. “There’s a good place down here.”

He noticed that the book was about a thriller, the blurb speaking of a detective finding a rogue criminal had been evading police capture. How ironic.

Her eyes were bright, small specks of flames and embers lighting them up from within. His hand was squeezed, her own staying within it as he slowly, but surely, gathered the courage to hold it a little tighter, a little more securely. It was such a small and easy to overlook gesture that he almost felt silly for being so giddy, even so Yangyang wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth (though, in his heart of hearts, he knew that whatever this was, was doomed to fail. For now it was worth it for how the world became infinitely more exciting with her).

* * *

Yangyang was barely awake when he walked through his front door, his eyes closing as he used his shoulder to open the door, the drink in his hand sloshing precariously as he rushed inwards. “Hey Louis,” he greeted absentmindedly, shutting the door with his foot and attempting to lock the door. 

“Hey, Yang-ah.”

It took a moment before his eyes widened, turning around with enough speed that he almost got whiplash. “What the fuck!?”

He stared at the scene before him, blinking three times to try and check if he was looking at a hallucination before seeing that it was in fact what he thought it was; it was her sitting on his sofa with Louis happily curled up in her lap, purring quietly as she stroked his tail. “You have a good day?”

“Uh, um, I guess?” he stammered, shutting the door completely and putting the drink down on the floor so he could pull off his jacket and shoes. “How’d you get in?”

“Through your bedroom window, you should really lock it.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Grabbing his drink, he took a sip from it and wandered over to them, also leaning down to pet Louis. Yangyang noticed that she was looking curiously at his drink and he held it out.

“You want some?”

“....What flavour is it?”

“Vanilla and chocolate sauce.”

She pretended to think, stroking her chin before nodding. “I’m not going to say no to that,” 

Yangyang was barely fussed as he handed it over, his mind whirring with the thoughts of it being an indirect kiss, his musings only helping to tempt a soft undercurrent of bashfulness to decorate his cheeks and crawl up his neck. Swallowing, he caught Louis’ eyes, the brown of his pupils reflecting his lovestruck expression. What kind of a loser was he?

“So,” she started, shuffling along the sofa as she swallowed her mouthful and handing the drink back to him, “What do you think about burning a building down?”

“Didn’t you ask me this before?” He replied, able to smell the fresh smell of rain clinging to her coat. “I swear you have.”

“That was about graffiti, not arson.”

A dry look was sent her way to which she responded with an easy going smile. “Damn, must’ve gotten mixed up with the art theft. My mistake.”

“You’re forgiven, baby.” Smoothing over the comment before he could think to shove her and pretend gag, she spoke again. “What if that building was an amazon warehouse?”

“...I’m listening.”

Louis was placed against her chest as she picked up his two front paws, using them to animate her plan. “Well, there’s no one there today because of a strike, no workers no nothing,” -she moved Louis’ paws to mimic someone running,- “so I thought we could hit that stupid Bozo cunt where it hurts: his ugly buildings.”

“But they won’t get severance?”

“Always the thinker, aren’t you?” She pointed Louis’ paw at him, waggling it. “Don’t worry, I have my ways of giving them money. You don’t get far without knowing a few things.”

He wouldn’t be far off in assuming that she wasn’t struggling for money, though perhaps he failed to understand the extent of her behind the scenes influence. It was honestly humbling to think about.

“You down?”

“Mhm. When are we going?”

“Now, unless you’re doing something?”

Shaking his head, he took a large sip of his drink and stood up as she let Louis off her lap. He made his way to the spot in front of the TV and played with one of the squeaky toys there, amusing himself. “Nope, let’s go. I just need to be back before 1am cuz I got, like, this meeting thing to go to.”

“No worries, I’ll bring you back home safe and sound.”

He left the cup on the table after downing the remaining quarter and followed behind her out of the building and to the car park where, instead of a stolen car like he’d come to expect, there was a sleek black convertible. “Is this yours?”

“For once, yeah.”

“Sick ride, it’s so cool.”

She chuckled at his word choice, unlocking the door for him to get inside. “Thanks, I thought it was pretty sexy too.”

Yangyang marvelled at the interior, the custom done red of the insides screaming time and effort; it was exactly the kind of car he had always dreamed of being in and owning himself. Wide eyes observed everything around him in a way not dissimilar to the first time he’d been in a car with her, though this time it was easier to tell that it was her own little haven. Small decorations hung over the rear view mirror, a blue plush heart dangling from it while a bobble head figure of hello kitty waved at him from the dashboard. “How many cars do you have?”

“Only two. This one and a kinda boring grey subaru. I just use this one when I won’t be leaving it in public areas. People like to scratch it sometimes.”

There was barely any sound from the engine, the car starting inaudibly as they moved down the road and into an off road area that was near enough pitch black. A faint beeping sound was heard before the roof started to go down, tucking itself into the back. The feeling of the wind in his hair was instantaneous, the cold of it no longer something to shy away from but something to embrace and enjoy wholeheartedly. 

“Holy fuck,” he laughed, blinking away some of the lights in his vision, “this is amazing!”

Had Yangyang been looking at her and not up at the endless night sky - where stars had made their home and engrained themselves within the heavens - he might have caught the faintest glimmer of adoration that twinkled in her gaze as she looked over at him. But the moment was gone as soon as it had come to fruition, her line of vision focusing on the road once again.

Everything was a blur save from the moon that held steadfast onto its designated position, his hair pushed right out of his face and giving him the cleanest view of everything he’d had in a while. He could see every subtle nuance in her skin, the moonlight giving him the clarity to view every feature of hers from a new angle, a warmer yet almost bitter perspective. It was hard to imagine how someone so radiant could ever hide such a secret, though she did it flawlessly and he had to applaud her for it. 

He sighed, the sound lost to the roar of the wind, and gazed back upwards again, memoring the patterns of the stars and wishing he could get them all to align. 

When they finally got out of the car, the convertible was hidden by overgrown flora and virtually undetectable in the dim light. The roof had been pulled up and the sleek noir of the paint kept it invisible. 

“You don’t need to worry about being seen, H.one disabled all the security and alarms again,” she explained as he helped her take out the petrol in the boot, “it’s basically just us here.”

“How long will it take?”

“Hopefully maximum an hour, If the main building is destroyed, the other storage units don’t matter.”

“Got you.” He nodded, fumbling with the container before he got a solid hold on it.

The route she decided to take, like always, was scenic. They cut through bushes and rows of large trees before the building came into view, the towering structure bigger than he’d assumed from only seeing pictures. “That’s like, bigger than my apartment building.” 

“For real?”

“Man, it’s like two of them, isn’t it?”

She gasped dramatically, holding a hand over her mouth. “Maybe even three!”

At his dull look, she relented, squeezing his shoulder and moving in closer so he could hear her better.

“Okay, take this and pour it all around the outside, throw it up the walls, everywhere you can reach. I’ll see you back near the side door in like 20 minutes, yeah?” He agreed readily, his pulse racing in anticipation. Every other time he had just watched, been a mere witness to the crimes that had been done (save for the comparatively minor dick graffiti), it felt like a step up for something that he had been unaware was there for so long. It was stupid; it was dangerous, but by now he’d learnt that it didn’t matter. It had never mattered.

For the first few sloshes that hit the ground, his hands trembled with the weight of what he was helping to do, the oil spilling precariously close to the toes of his shoes. Though, as he made his way around to the back, the trembling had been replaced with confidence and he was reaching higher with his throws. He wanted this to work and to see the place ablaze; her influence was a little too heavy on him, clearly.

Picking up his speed, he jogged around the side to the back and threw it up the sides, seeing the brickwork become darker after being saturated. It dripped down steadily, splashes of it creating patchwork before he left it in the dust to carry on. He worked quickly and efficiently now that he’d gotten the hang of it and he’d no doubt that she was making quick work of her segment too. 

And out of the twenty minutes that she’d given, he’d managed to finish it all within 15. Yangyang made his way back to the meeting place, the empty carton swaying while he debated kicking it into a nearby bush.

“You finished, angel?” He looked around for the source of her voice, unable to find her until he looked upwards, her figure blending in with the night, “I’m done with the inside and I did the roof too.”

“Yeah, I’m done.”

The more sensible thing for her to do would’ve been to go back down the way she came, but instead she decided to dangle off the edge, hanging multiple stories off the floor as he yelped, feeling scared for her. “What the fuck? Go inside and get out like that!”

“That’ll take like 10 minutes. Watch this.”

She swung to the side like a spider weaving its detailed web, her fingers grabbing onto the brickwork as she made her way to the pipes near the air conditioning. Her foot was placed in one of the slots before she held onto the largest pipe, using it as a pole to slide down on - with the last 2 foot ending with a jump onto the ground. “You’re like some sort of gymnast.”

“You could do that too if you tried,” she replied, brushing off her hands

Nudging her gently with his elbow, he scoffed. “Yeah, I could but only once before I go splat on the road. I don’t have your kind of death wish.”

“That's truly such a shame.” She hung her head, sighing melodramatically as Yangyang nudged her again, encouraging her to walk with him to the front. “Wait, Yang-ah, give me your hand?”

He did so with no hesitation, letting her hold it gently within her own palm as she took something out from her pocket and placed it within his palm, her fingertips leaving behind traces of chalk. She’d passed him a lighter.

“You want me to light it?” 

“If you’re up for it.”

The lighter was metal, a hefty weight to it as he ran his finger over the engraved designs of vines covering a building. If he concentrated enough, he could feel the fluid move from side to side within it, his own shuffling feet mimicking the movement. “Yeah,” he said, tongue almost glued to the roof of his mouth, “I’ll do it.”

“Certain?”

His determined nod was enough for her to step back, only observing him as he opened the cap and pressed down, the flame coming to life within a second’s notice. Kneeling down, he felt her eyes on him and he took a deep breath, numbing the doubt and any semblance of tumultuous emotion with a gulp of freezing air. 

Nothing happened for the split second after fire met petrol before it exploded, the fire spreading along the walls and eating up the tarmac it was situated on. The flames burnt a brilliant orange, then red, then blue, becoming white in a matter of moments as he pocketed the lighter and took her hand, running with her away from the scene of the crime.

Heat licked at the heels of their feet, the building engulfed completely by the time they had reached the car again. They didn’t leave immediately, opting to admire the wreckage and watching the storm of vengeance rage become all consuming. Thick plumes of smoke blended in with the hue of the night, though they were soon leaving it behind; it was someone else’s problem now.

“Hey,” Yangyang spoke, glancing at the time and seeing that she had kept her promise of taking him home before 1. “I’m glad I met you,” he said, the syllables almost remaining lodged in his throat, “you make me really happy.”

Her smile was genuine, sincere. “You make me happy, too.” 

Even though the words remained unsaid, lost to their own thoughts and to the vague unsettlement of being so open - they both knew clearly what was meant and that was enough: more than enough.

(He just wished that he had the guts to say what he truly meant, to spill his heart out to someone that was so incredibly unpredictable and be unabashed about it. But alas, it was human nature to seek comfort in security. What she didn’t know, or the extent of what she didn’t know, couldn’t hurt either of them.)

* * *

“Louis, do you think it would be okay if I, you know, like, took her up on that offer of beating up my editor?” 

Yangyang stared at the email, not knowing whether he should feel rage or disgust at what was staring him back in the face. 

‘ **Email from: Kjseo01@******.com**

Reply to: Promotion requirements

As per our previous discussion in the office, the article on the warehouse was very good but we need something more to be able to give you the promotion. It’s not an easy task and you should think about that before you ask again. Give us something fresh for it or you’ll be put back on doing quizzes again.’

He’d never wanted to reach through a screen and slap someone before in his life. The frustration of being stagnant was growing more and more toxic, simmering in his gut and likely to explode if he was provoked any further. So, he began to write, opening up another email to spit out all the venom that was burning him from the inside out. 

‘ **Email to Kjseo01@******.com from Liuyang10@******.com** :

Subject: Fuck you and ur shitty boss

What’s ur problem man ??? 🙄🙄 It’s like ur finding any dumbass excuse not to give me this promotion. Y don’t u give me a clear answer instead of telling me I need to get juicier articles... WTF is more juicy than being the first one to report on multiple diff things 🙃 Just fucking say u don’t want to give me it instead of leading me on like i’m an idiot 😐 hope u stub your fucking toe and stain ur stupid suit with sauce. Sincerely - fuck off’ 

_Email saved to drafts’_

Grumbling to himself, he flopped against the back of the sofa, reaching out pathetically towards Louis who dodged him to go hide under the coffee table again - obviously having not learnt his lesson. He honestly didn’t know what else he could write an article on and he didn’t feel like going out and looking for trouble again either.

In a moment of desperation, he began to look through his emails, trying to see if he could find anything worthwhile in them. Maybe an order to look forward too, maybe even just a discount code from a website. Instead he found nothing and the impending sadness was starting to hit him.

Even if he texted his friends about it, they wouldn't quite understand the extent of the anger. Yangyang chewed on his cheek, wishing he had asked for her number when he'd the chance (fat chance he had at actually getting it when he still didn't know her name). Sifting back through his emails, he pressed onto the drafts and gasped, the diamond amongst rocks staring back at him; one of the emails she'd used to message him. 

Yes it was just a quick copy he did, having saved the address before it disappeared from his inbox, but it was something! Though it was anyone's guess to whether it would actually work if he used it.

‘ **Email to 264537@empty.com from Liuyang10@******.com**

Subject: idk if u’ll get this tbh

I wrote down this email address the last time u sent something to me and idek if it will go through but idc rn. My editor is such an ass 🤒🤒🤒 He still won’t give me that fucking promotion and all he does is play me. I kinda wanna tell u to go and beat his ass 😐🙄 bet he won’t do it even then. 😒'

He contemplated hitting send before slamming it anyway, watching as it disappeared into his sent folder. There was basically no chance of a reply so he wasn't going to get too hung up on it, but he did wish to talk to her in some kind of way. 

Keeping the laptop open, he balanced it on the arm of the sofa and focused on the anime that was flashing across the screen. Half of the episode had gone by the time he actually looked at it, having been too focused on other things. 

Luckily for him, he could easily rewind and watch it from the beginning. An hour passed before he could tell, the laptop turning off by itself before Louis got out of his den to try and swat at it. 

"Yo, Louis stop." Yangyang pushed his paw away, accidentally knocking the space bar and making the screen turn on again. A new email had come through. “Nevermind, love you, Lou.”

' **Reply to Liuyang10@******.com from 283738@empty92.com:**

I don't know how you managed to send this to me either, but lucky for you, it sent :). Your editor deserves a piece of my mind, but I'll keep that to myself. Don't worry, if it's something interesting he wants, it'll be something interesting he gets 🤑. I'm working on something big and you'll be the first to know, of course. Don't let the fucker get to you.'

He was racing to reply, delighted that it had worked. 

' **Reply to 283738@empty92.com from Liuyang10@******.com** :

What kind of story? 👀 and yh I won't let him. He's been getting extra annoying 😑. I'm a little sad that they keep denying me it. I feel like maybe I should move to a different company or something but that means starting again 😞. I can't be fucked to do that.’

Her reply came within a few minutes this time, the ping of a new email alerting him to it. 

' **Reply to Liuyang10@******.com from 987363@empty78.com** :

You won't have to. Stick with it and you'll get the promotion, promise <3\. He won’t be able to say no to the promotion, that’s all I’m telling you. Also, if there’s a knock on your door, open it.’

‘ **Reply to 987363@empty78.com from Liuyang10@******.com** :

Is it you? 🤨’

‘ **Reply to Liuyang10@******.com from 645633@empty2.com** :

No, but it’s from me.’

He frowned a little as he realised he couldn’t reply to the email anymore, the address now unavailable and leading him to a dead end. Though now he was curious about what she could have possibly been doing now.

Shutting his laptop completely, he put it on charge and shooed Louis out from under the table to pick him up, holding him with one arm so he could fuss over him properly. “You know, Kun-ge’s been asking me to take you to him,” Yangyang started, looking at his pet’s furry face, “what do you think? You might as well, he always gives you like 10 million treats.” 

Louis meowed in response, leaning into the touch. 

“We’ll go later then, after whatever she sent comes.”

Thankfully, whatever she sent didn’t take too long to arrive and the knock on the door had him rushing to open it. 

Outside was a delivery man with a cardboard holder that had two drinks slotted into it, the items handed to him as he thanked them quickly. They left but he stood there, Louis in hand, to inspect what she'd given to him. It was very clearly boba, one of them the same kind he always got, the other being the one she’d ordered with him. 

He glanced at Louis and then back at the drinks, then back again at Louis. The warm feeling in his chest looked, growing and windings around his heart and lungs. It was comforting and he hugged Louis tighter, bringing everything inside and shutting the door. 

"She's so…" He sighed, placing the drinks down to hold his cat up and stare into his eyes. "What do I do? She's not someone you can just… Peacefully fall for, you know?"

A slow blink was his reply, another soft sigh tumbling from his lips as he hugged Louis for a moment and let go. It truly was a difficult task to get your mind off someone whilst also wanting to do nothing more than think of them.

* * *

‘ **New email from 01001001-00100111-01101100-01101100@empty14.com** :

Subject: The story ;)

I have everything ready for you now, I just need you to come to t͟h͟i͟s͟ location for me. I would pick you up, but I wouldn’t be able to take you back home. Come as soon as you can, it’s getting colder these days so you shouldn’t stay out.’

Yangyang read the message over and over again, a feeling of unease nestling in his chest at the way it was worded. It was completely normal, mundane even, yet it still got under his skin.

‘ **Reply to 01001001-00100111-01101100-01101100@empty14.com from LiuYang@******.com** :

Cool, I’ll be there soon. I’ll take a cab or something. Also, are you okay?’

‘ **Reply to LiuYang10@******.com from 01101101-01101001-01110011-01110011@empty12.com** :

You should tell them to wait like 15 minutes for you, it won’t take long. I’m just explaining something and giving you what you need. And I’m okay dw about it’

‘ **Reply to 01101101-01101001-01110011-01110011@empty12.com from LiuYang10@*****.com** : 

Okay 😊 I’m otw now!

‘ **Reply to LiuYang10@******.com from 01111001-01101111-01110101@empty01000010.01111001.01100101.com** :

See you soon, angel <3.

He stood up and dialled up for a taxi, asking them to come quickly as he shoved on his shoes and walked out, not bothering to take a coat or a jacket (it was more so he didn’t remember to pick one up in his one way train of thought). 

The wait for the taxi felt excruciatingly long (thought it was probably not any more than a 10 minute wait). “Hi,” he greeted the driver, getting into the car, “I wanted to go to this address.” Holding up the screen, the driver turned around and read it with a slight furrow in their brow. 

“That’s just out in the middle of nowhere.”

“...Is it?”

"Yeah, just off the intersection past the ring road downtown. You sure you want to go there?"

"I'm sure, thank you."

He watched the lights of the city dim down, becoming obsolete the further away he went from the inner city. The drive was soothing, taking no longer than 15 minutes before they were coming to a standstill.

"I can't go any further. This is the closest I can get."

"Oh. Do you know how to get there?"

"Go past the trees and it's that lake."

Yangyang pursed his lips. "Could you please wait here until I come back? I'll be like 20 minutes max." The driver nodded in agreement as Yangyang paid them for the trip there, keeping the car running as they pulled out their phone to call someone. 

He rushed out of the taxi, closing the door behind him as he made his way through the row of trees and shrubbery, seeing her car just a little away from him as she sat on the hood, looking at the landscape.

“This is new,” Yangyang commented, looking over at the lake that she had parked near, the water rippling and shimmering with movements from the fish that swam underneath. He’d never seen this place before. “I didn’t know this was here.”

“It’s not really a landmark and people don’t come at night.” She patted the space next to her, inviting him to sit too. “Come quickly, you’re shivering.”

While she wasn’t wrong, it was a bit of an exaggeration. It was cold and the temperature tended to dip below 0 at night, but he would much rather not admit his faults. “It’s not that cold.”

Hoisting himself up onto the hood, he subconsciously rubbed at his arms, giving himself away. 

“Yeah, of course. I told you to bring a coat, Yang-ah,” she tutted, shrugging off her brilliant red coat and passing it over to him, draping it over his shoulders as he held tightly onto it - not wanting to let go of it just yet.

“Sorry, I was rushing to leave,” he said sheepishly and she waved it away. Instead she reached into her pocket, pulling out a USB stick and taking his hand to pass it over, her own hands clasping over his - as though holding them in prayer. “What- uh, what’s the story you wanted to talk about?”

“Hm, well, I don’t think your editor can deny you any position with it, but you can’t release it until you do what I tell you to. It’s about the CEO of your company: Yeon Hyunsoo. He’s been part of a huge drug trafficking ring for a while now, which is how he has so much money that doesn't really correlate with what the company is earning. I’ve been compiling different pieces of evidence on him and the activities of the ring, all of it is on that USB.”

His brows furrowed together, the drive warming up in their combined hold. “Why didn’t you say it over email? You could have come over too.”

For the first time since he’d met her, she didn’t look at his eyes when she spoke, instead she chose to run her fingers over the groves of his knuckles, memorising every little dent and curve of them. For some reason, it made his heart both squeeze painfully and drop to the deepest pits of his stomach.

“I couldn’t.”

“Why not?” 

“Because I wouldn’t have been able to meet up with you now if I did.” She let go of him, his fingers twitching at the loss. “I might be very good at getting away with things, but there’s no way I’d be able to leak all of this without him finding me if I was still active.”

He exhaled, the chill of the night making it form into a small cloud that dissolved near instantly. “So you can’t do any more crime?”

“I have to go underground, Yang-ah. I can’t hang around with you because that would put a giant target on your back.”

“You can’t stay?” He felt like he was suppressing a sob, a deep desperation making his words sound garbled, rushed. The last thing he wanted was for her to leave when he found solace within her after having nothing to look forward to for so long. Having her in his life meant he saw each new day as an opportunity, something to grasp and cherish - to have her leave would be like removing the sun from the sky, to let the flowers have a taste of rain before a year long drought, to make him feel an ache in his heart that could never be soothed. “Can’t you find a way?”

“Hey, I thought you’d be happy,” she teased, though it was easy to see through. The attempt at humour only made the lump in his throat harden. “Don’t sound so sad, you’ll get your promotion with this for sure. You’ll finally have me out of your hair too.”

Fumbling with the USB, he shoved it into his pocket and reached out to hold her hand, holding them close to his chest where he was certain she could feel the way it thumped against his sternum. “What if I don’t mind you in my hair?” He felt pathetic, like he was grasping at straws to hold onto someone that was slipping through his fingertips like dwindling moonlight. “I want you to stay.”

“...You don’t even know my name.”

His grip tightened, sensing that she was about to pull away. “I know, but I-” The words felt like they would choke him before he ever got the chance to spit them out. “I still like you.”

A light laugh sounded in the air as she moved one of her hands out of his hold, instead brushing the hair on his forehead and cupping his cheek for a brief second. "You know, I never expected to end up liking you this much either. I guess that smile of yours is infectious."

He knew that time was ticking, that the taxi he'd ordered was still idling where he'd left it, but he couldn't bring himself to want to leave. Who knew when he would see her again?

The back of his eyes stung, his blinking only making it worse. Nothing was said for a few moments until he worked up the courage to speak again.

"Promise me I'll see you again," he whispered, voice frail.

A sad smile and a soft shake of her head made his chest tighter, squeezing his organs so tightly he thought he would collapse. "I can't tell you that."

"Even if I said that I was falling in love with you?" 

"Even then."

The silence was near deafening, the wind whistling in his ears as she shuffled closer, squeezing his hand like it was the last time she would ever do so (and maybe it was. Neither of them knew for certain).

“I guess the feeling really was mutual.”

Her words made his head spin, his hackles rising as shaky pupils ran over her visage, absorbing every little detail he could and ending up feeling greedy for more. But it was okay, his want reciprocated in the form of her inching closer, the smell of fresh water and rain mingling with the subtle perfume that clung to her clothes.

Every inhale and exhale rang in his ears as he moved closer to where she had stopped, his breathing shakily as he reached up to touch her cheek, fingers pressing lightly into the warm skin as she finally closed the gap between them.

And while it wasn’t perfect: it was perfect to him. The way his whole body buzzed was electric, the soft feeling of her skin on his was enough to have his world turn foggy, hazy.

When they pulled away, the lingering feeling was sweet and it was bitter, the oxymoron coating his tongue and burning his eyes as she pulled away. How badly he wanted to usher her towards him again.

He'd never seen her look so dejected, not even the well meaning smile on her lips could have fooled him. "You should go now." And it hurt, it hurt so bad he didn't know what to do. It was agonising and numbing, blending into one another. "Go before I try to convince you to come with me or something equally as stupid."

The offer was tempting, but he knew that he couldn't do it. He'd worked up to this moment for so long and to throw it away now would be a disservice to the both of them. He held onto the coat, about to move it from his shoulders to hand it back when she stopped him.

"You can have it." Her hand hovered over his chest before her fingers curled inwards, her hand lowering. "It's yours."

"I can't-"

"You can. You look pretty in red." Her eyes glowed as they met his, running over his features one last time. "Yangyang, go home now."

The 'goodbye' was too real. He couldn't bring himself to say it. "Can I hug you? I'll go after, I promise."

There was no verbal response, instead she pulled him closer, arms reaching securely around him as he returned the gesture - hugging her tighter as he buried his face in her shoulder. As much as he didn’t want to cry now, he knew it would be inevitable as soon as he was out of her view. Fingers ran delicately along his scalp, playing with his hair as they existed simply for each other. 

It didn’t matter that they were on opposite sides, that he would likely never see her again, for now all that mattered was that he could feel her soft breaths against his neck - goosebumps rising along his skin. He didn’t want to let go. 

Squeezing her tighter, he moved back and managed a forced smile. “I’ll see you later?”

“I can’t say.” She pushed him gently. “I’d like to.”

And that was the best response he would get.

As he began to walk away from the car, he glanced for a moment at the lake, seeing the reflection of her figure as she headed into her car, the door shutting and obscuring her completely.

The coat was held tighter, wrapped around his shoulders as he jogged right back to the stalling taxi, thanking the driver for staying for as long as they did and sitting curled up in the back. He couldn’t bring himself to look back at the field, the ruby red of the coat standing out starkly against the darkness that surrounded him, that suffocated him. 

Staring out of the window, he watched the roads melt away into nothing before he pulled the coat up to his collar, burying his face within it as a single tear rolled down his cheek - his sniffling soft in the back of the lonely car. 

Yangyang didn't even know her name.

* * *

The instructions she had left him were clear and simple: 

1\. Go to Café Duobus Annis 

2\. Order a drink and make yourself blend in

3\. Wait for the perfect moment and do it

4\. Send her an email at 273548@empty1010.com saying he had done it

5\. Wait

However, things were always easier said than done and he felt like he was going to pass out at any moment with the way adrenaline was rushing through his veins. 

The café was quaint, an expensive and upper class air immediately associated with it. It was hard not to feel like an outside as he sat at a booth by himself, his warm cup of coffee sitting there untouched; you could still make out the cream art on top.

He scrolled nervously on his phone, trying to make himself seem as inconspicuous as he could. The outfit he wore today was specifically designed to blend him in with the people who came here too, his hair covered with a light brown beanie, a large trench coat also matching the colour. 

His foot tapped against the floor, creating a steady rhythm as he finally decided to take a sip, only to grimace immediately. One sugar wasn't enough for such a bitter drink, he should've taken another five packets.

Glancing out of the window, he saw cars pull up and he knew the climax would be coming soon after almost an hour of waiting. 

Another look to his left showed a table occupied by two men, their chatter low as they spoke to each other in a dialect he didn't quite understand. They had come in a little while after he did, placing themselves in the corner furthest away from anyone else. Yangyang wasn't particularly interested in eavesdropping on them either, that wasn't his job for the day. 

The cars were parking now, a small smile forming on his lips. 

And was followed next could be described in three simple stages, exactly as she had written. 

' _One: The police will come. They'll be quiet, like they always are, but before you know it, they'll be everywhere._ '

The door slammed open, nearly shattering the glass that it was made from as swarms of officers ran in. There was screams of confusion and fear from both customers and staff. People shot up, terror in their eyes as the police narrowed in on their targets 

They were cornered before they got the chance to even register what was happening. 

' _Two: They won't kick up a fuss since they believe their money will talk; it won't. I made sure. You should aim to take a picture now right before they are restrained, after they're handcuffed and while they're escorted out._ '

Yangyang lifted his phone up from the table, switching over to the camera and shuffling back up against the window, his face hidden by the collar of his coat as he snapped a picture. The police were surrounding them, the men still sat at the table - unnervingly calm as they gave the other an almost unnoticeable glance 

He took another, a blindingly clear image of the cuff around Yeon Hyunsoo's wrist going into his camera roll before he took the last damning picture. Guns were drawn, their rights repeated to them as they bowed their heads. 

' _Three: They will leave quietly and quickly. The place will go quiet right after, you should leave in this timeframe as people from their group will come immediately after they're notified. It won't take long and you'll have to be quick. Hide your face as you go and don't let either Hyunsoo or his accomplice see you_.'

Turning away from the scene, he burrowed himself into the seat, the beanie pulled further over his face so that they couldn't see him if even they strained themselves to.

Everything and everyone was quiet, the sound of blood rushing past his ears drowning out the white noise.

Out of the window he could see them being put into two different police cars, the other officers surrounding them with their vehicles as they left - people stopping to stare left and right. 

It was after the sound of sirens had become a little more distant that he decided to get up, leaving his coffee but leaving with something worth much more - his promotion. 

All he had to do now was email her.

* * *

Sounds of pattering woke the man up from his light sleep, his face scrunching up from annoyance at the noises above his head. 

It was like constant scratching, almost purposeful as they shifted in direction and volume. Maddening was the only way to describe it, the sounds reverberating around him, inside the walls and in his head. 

They continued to get louder and louder until they were almost directly on top of him, the sounds stopping suddenly and he sighed. Finally, he needed to get some sleep before his early start to the day tomorrow. 

He groaned, laying back down and turning off the lamp, the room cast into darkness again.

However, luck was not on his side, and neither was any blessings from any sort of god. Only moments after he had finished his blasphemous prayers, the door slammed open, cracking and folding under the force used. Instantly he jumped up, gasping for breath. 

"What the fu-"

The sound of footsteps returned, closer than ever as the figure walked up to him, something in their hands as a mask covered their face - leaving only their eyes visible.

Scrambling upwards, his hand shot out to grab his phone, yet as soon as he saw their hand lift, the gun aimed straight for his head - he thought better of it. "What do you want from me?" He spluttered, about to move from the covers when their aim changed, shooting right at his phone - destroying it with one movement as the sound of glass shattering and metal splitting struck dread into him.

"I want you to shut the fuck up and do as I tell you."

"H-huh?"

The shot that was fired blew past his ear, air whistling and sizzling as the bullet embedded itself within the wall just inches away from his head. Another deafening bang rang in the room, the gun aimed millimetres above his head. If he had tried to move at all, he would have been dead at the scene.

"Now, I'm sure you'll listen attentively to what I have to say." They stalked closer, sweat beginning to build on his brow. "Move and I'll shoot your legs to fucking splinters. Trust me, I never miss."

He nodded quickly, gulping down thick saliva. 

"Your subordinate, Liu Yangyang, will be sending you an article about the involvement of your CEO in a drug ring." Cool metal pressed against his forehead, cold and unfeeling eyes staring him down, an eerie contrast to the honey sweet tone of their voice. 

"Drug ring?" He choked out, a bead of sweat running down his nose 

"Yes, a drug trafficking and selling. You will approve his article," they spoke, gun clicking as his adam's apple bobbed, fear making his throat dry and thoughts center around the person in front of him. "And I'll know if you don't."

"B-but I-" he blubbered, losing all composure in the face of such someone so hell bent on their own way. "I-i'll lose my job!"

They laughed, gun pressing harder against his forehead, his head tilting further back as his shaky breaths filled the air. "Ask me if I give a fuck." When he didn't reply, they shoved it harder against him. "Did you fucking hear me? I said ask me if I give a damn."

"Do you-" he stuttered and stammered over his words, vision spotting with black as his throat began to close up. "Do you give a fuck?"

"Hell no I don't." The gun shifted from his head to his temple, a red indent left behind on the skin. "And don't try to delete it after you post it either, that goes for any of the bastards in your company. Do it and I promise I'll come back to splatter your brains across these walls. That would be a shame, wouldn't it? The trim looks expensive."

Bottom lip trembling, he nodded hurriedly - anything to get them to leave. He didn't care about the fucking job enough to risk his life!

"Say it out loud. I don't trust people like you."

Words seemed to be beyond him, a pathetic sounding croak leaving him as they made his head tilt from how hard the gun was pressing into his skull. He had no doubt they would put a bullet through his head.

"I'll approve and publish it," he spat out, terror making the syllables taste like acid. "I swear on god! I'll publish it, I'll do it!'

The stare that burned into him was unrelenting before the weapon was lowered. "Keep your mouth shut about this too. The police won't ever manage to protect you."

He cowered as they left, seeing them throw down a piece of paper at his feet. It was only after he was certain they was gone, the sound of footsteps on the roof no longer audible, did he slowly reach out to unfold the note. 

And what he read almost made him wish that they did pull the trigger.

'Pleasure doing business with you - x‿x'

* * *

Yangyang spun around on his chair, groaning as he stretched and rolled his aching shoulders. Sitting at a desk for so long was never his favourite thing, but it came with the job now. 

Though, no matter how much he didn't like being stuck behind his desk, he couldn't complain. After two long years of ups and downs, he had finally managed to start up his own little firm with his friend Kun. It has started off shaky, though it blossomed quickly into letting him own his own building with people that loved the thrill of discovering groundbreaking news as much as he did. 

The article on his own CEO had been the jump start he needed, garnering hundreds of thousands of views and landing him the promotion he'd so desperately wanted. 

Yangyang owed it all to her, the red coat worn with love. 

An email popped up on his screen, one that he had been expecting for a while now. It was of a new investor into his company, potentially one of the biggest if they went through with it. 'I'm sending them up now,' it read and Yangyang got up, looking at himself in the reflection and smoothing down his shirt. 

Normally, he would have asked Kun to help him with the bigger interviews, but he was busy (meaning Kun had to babysit and try avoid being drooled on by a toddler).

He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to fix any strands that had decided to stick up when he heard the sound of an intern's voice telling someone that this was Yangyang's office. Quickly, he reached into his pocket to squeeze his lighter, running his fingers over the familiar design before letting go and putting on his most welcoming smile. 

A knock echoed, his voice thankfully stable as he told them to come in. Both the intern and a woman walked in, the intern smiling good naturedly at him before leaving quickly - he couldn't really blame them. 

The air of the woman was powerful, immediately making the hairs on the back of his neck rise as looked at her. Something about her was so familiar, it was on the tip of his tongue - waiting for him to realise. 

Her outfit wasn't the kind of thing you would have expected from someone who was going to a business meeting, though he hardly looked the part either. In fact, he quite liked the big jacket that she wore 

"It's nice to finally meet you in person!" He stated, bowing politely as she returned the gesture, a glint in her hues. "Please, take a seat."

She did as he asked, her coat remaining snuggly on her form as she looked around, taking everything in before her gaze settled on him. His heart started to race, mind whirring with who she was. Who _was_ she? She was so familiar it was frustrating him, the answer so close yet so far. 

But it was answered soon enough. All he had to do was wait two years.

"I guess the article really did work," she spoke, chuckling a little with glowing eyes that Yangyang could have never forgotten for as long as he lived. "I'm (y/n). It's a pleasure to meet you too, baby."


End file.
